Pictured in this photo is Brian Towriss when he was still coaching at the University of Saskatchewan. (Huskie Athletics)

By Ian Gustafson

Guess Who's Back

Brian Towriss to return to the sidelines for U Sports East-West Bowl

Apr 21, 2022 | 10:05 AM

A University of Saskatchewan Huskies football legend is making a return to the sidelines.

Not to coach the Huskies but rather for the U Sports East-West Bowl on May 7 at McMaster University.

Brian Towriss, who led the Huskies to three Vanier Cup championships (nine appearances) and 11 Hardy Cup victories, was named a head coach for the game.

Towriss told huskieFAN the game will be a lot of fun to be a part of.

“It’s going to give me an opportunity to go down and reconnect with some good friends down east that I haven’t seen that much,” he said.

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“It’s certainly an honour as well too. The fact the organizers at McMaster specifically, probably Stefan Ptaszek, that came up with the idea to get Gary [Jeffries] and I back together on opposite sidelines, you know, as Gary said we have a lot of gratitude for those who made it happen.”

Towriss added, while it’s certainly a big game for the players getting to showcase their talents in front of CFL scouts, it is an all-star game so their is no pressure to win.

The last time Towriss was on a sideline was four years ago when he was assisting at a training camp at the University of Guelph.

“It’ll be fun to be back on the sideline to blow a whistle to start practice, and call for the punt team,” he said.

He coached the Huskies for over 30 years as head coach from 1984 to 2016 and as an assistant coach for a few season before that. During that time he was awarded Canada West Coach of the Year seven times.

Towriss explained once they get on the field he’s sure the competitive juices will start to flow but is looking forward to working with the other coaches and visiting old colleagues.

“We’ll have lots of fun and you know we’ll make sure the kids are ready to play and make sure they can get them out there with equal playing time to showcase their abilities.”

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Ian.Gustafson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @IanGustafson12