Lumsden, Saskatchewan native Riley Schick is preparing to compete in the Dream Bowl on January 11 in front of NFL, CFL and other professional scouts.
"It's an opportunity to keep all doors open. You never want to close any doors, especially when football is a means to an end. I think the Rams do a very good job of teaching their players that football doesn't go on forever," Schick said on the SportsCage.
"There's a time where it ends, and you must move on in life. Keeping all doors open with all eyes open, making sure I take it all in."
Schick explained how he is preparing for the Dream Bowl with help from former CFL and NFL offensive lineman, Weyburn, Saskatchewan native Brett Jones.
"He's a great guy. He comes to every workout, every running session, and every practice, and he does every workout. Running drills with us, not just to show us that he is also human, but to show us that it's not as hard as it may seem," Schick said.
"He was in the NFL. He is a very gifted athlete. But at the end of the day, we're all the same. We're all o-lineman trying to get better day in and day out just like he is. He's studying for his doctorate all day long, then comes in and does a two-hour workout with a bunch of college athletes. It's great having him around, whether it's his work ethic he's showing us or little bits of information every now and then."
Initially, Schick played with the Regina Thunder from 2019, 2021-2023, then played for the University of Regina Rams from 2024 through 2025. In his first year with the Rams, he helped the team win the Hardy Cup against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 19-14. Last year, he earned a Canada West all-star nod and won the Regina Rams Offensive Lineman of the Year Award. He participated in the 2025 U Sports East-West Bowl, which highlights top Canadian talent. Schick was on Team West and they won the game 32-20 over the East team. During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Schick was on the Saskatchewan Roughriders practice roster.
Growing up, Schick remembers the moment that he was first introduced to the Regina Thunder.
"So all my friends have played football growing up, but I never played any until grade nine. We created a Bantam team out in Lumsden. I was always over the weight limit; I didn't want to go up in an age group. I was a big baseball kid, so I played baseball — I trained in baseball six days a week," Schick recalled.
"The Thunder were scouting somebody else that was on my team in Lumsden, and said, 'Hey, that kid's pretty big. We should talk to him for a little bit.' I got asked to go to their invitational camps. And then after the last intrasquad scrimmage, I got an invite to the team. That was quite a wild ride. My whole life, I thought I was going to be playing baseball in the States, and then I got on with the Regina Thunder."
Schick did not hesitate when he was asked who he looked up to in football and said two Roughriders offensive linemen, one current and one legend.
"It's Logan Ferland and Dan Clark, which is weird to say because they're kind of a little bit different from each other. But Ferland was my vet my first year on the Thunder, that was his fifth year. I got to meet him and see all of the hard work that he puts in to try and get to the Riders, and then he started his first year," Schick recalled.
"Dan Clark, I modelled my game after because he's kind of like me. We both got short arms, we're both told that we weren't tall enough all the time. We've both been told that we weren't good enough to stay on the team, both got told that we weren't good enough to be all-stars and stuff. Yet Dan Clark had, in my mind, a Hall of Fame career, Grey Cup champion, all-stars, and he was told he couldn't do it."
Sticking with Clark, Schick remembers a story that was told to him, which will help his preparation for the Dream Bowl.
"I remember playing in the national championship with the Thunder, and Dan Clark said, 'Hey. When you're in this game, take it all in. Look at the crowd. Feel it.' I'm gonna do that for sure," Schick said.
"You get caught up in the moment, and of course, I didn't. I looked back at it, I wish I would have walked onto the field in the pregame and did a little walk around and take in all the scenery because you remember it. The parts I remember are the plays that went bad, not the plays that went good. I can take it all in and keep all doors open, that'll be the best thing."
