Scott Flory. (University of Saskatchewan)

By Jeff D’Andrea

Football preview

Flory excited to bring his Huskies football team back on the field

Sep 8, 2021 | 3:52 PM

Scott Flory has a ton of history with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team, and it runs a lot deeper than when he joined the team’s staff in 2014.

Flory played for the Huskies from 1994-98, and won two Vanier Cups (1996 and 1998) before a stellar 15-year career with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes.

Shortly after his playing career, Flory ‘jumped’ at the opportunity to return to the Huskies. He started out as the offensive coordinator, before accepting a promotion to head coach in 2017.

“I don’t want to say it was here and nowhere else, but it’s one of those things where I have so much reverence and respect for this program. Myself, my whole family, my three brothers, all four of us played and all four of us have cup rings,” Flory said. “It’s meant a lot to myself and my family, amazing memories and friendships. It was one of those things that when I was done playing when I had the opportunity to come back here, I just jumped at it.”

In the three years Flory has been the head coach, the Huskies have won two Hardy Cup conference titles, and he was named Canada West’s Coach of the Year in 2019.

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But Flory’s main concern right now is returning to the field of play. After the shock and all the uncertainties that came along with the pandemic, which forced the end of the 2020 Canada West athletic season, Flory said the team bonded and supported each other.

“We found a way together, to lean on each other and to use the hope at the end of the tunnel to get us through,” Flory said. “We’re finally at a point now where we’re preparing to play meaningful games. That’s what we’re here for and that’s what we want to do.”

With every team in the conference being in the same boat, Flory said there are a lot of unknowns. Not only is he still learning about his team, but it’s difficult to gauge how other teams will look after a full year off.

“I don’t think we really know until we know—just being within our own bubble, and not necessarily having that depth of perspective. I think that we’re getting better, the focus has been on us,” Flory said. “But when we start to look outside of our bubble and take a wider lens to it, we don’t know what our opposition is going to be like. We don’t know how far they’ve come and developed, and we don’t know how we have improved respectively to them… We won’t know until we start playing games, analyze and adjust as needed.”

One thing is for sure, Flory will be working to ensure the offensive line is nice and sound. Flory was an offensive lineman when he played. He was a guard for the Alouettes, and won the CFL’s Most Outstanding Lineman Award in 2008 and 2009, while winning three Grey Cups (2002, 2009, 2010). Controlling the line of scrimmage from both sides of the ball, especially on the offensive side, is held in “high regard” in Flory’s program.

“I don’t think you can be very successful if you don’t have a couple of things: one is line of scrimmage play, so along the offensive and defensive lines you have to control the line of scrimmage, and you have to have good quarterback play. Those two things to me stand out. There’s a lot of nuance in the game of football, but if you’ve got those two things, you’ve got a chance.”

The Huskies begin their season with a pair of road games, Sept. 25 against the University of Calgary Dinos and Oct. 1 against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. The Huskies’ first home game will come on Oct. 16 against the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW