The start of football season is an exciting time for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies community, but this season brings some extra joy as Anton Amundrud returns to the turf following a cancer diagnosis. “It just makes me feel like myself again. Football has been a part of my life since I was eight years old, and it’s what I love to do. Coming out here with your best friends and playing football, there’s no better feeling. So, things feel like they’re back to normal and it feels great,” Amundrud said. For Amundrud, the 2026 football season was far from what the starting quarterback expected. After a strong start with 1,604 passing yards, zero interceptions and 14 touchdowns over five games, the quarterback was forced to step away from the season following a diagnosis of T-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “Last year was a different season. Obviously, it turned out being a little different. But the support from my teammates and coaches and all the staff around here like it was phenomenal. And knowing that I had those people behind me and had my back, it was really a great feeling. So, coming back and be able to play this year, there’s no better feeling,” he said. After the team announced Amundrud’s temporary departure last October, the football community both in Saskatoon and across Canada offered support and well wishes for the quarterback and his team. Huskies football head coach, Scott Flory shared this support had a significant impact on the organization. “I think that football is pretty unique culturally, just around the game and everything. And I think that the fans obviously were phenomenal. And everybody around and even my colleagues coast to coast were super supportive and people just were genuinely caring and reaching out, even though they may be combatants,” Flory said. The head coach added being able to watch Amundrud’s return has been impactful for the entire organization. “At the end of the day, any of these young men or anybody, young athletes play a sport, we just want them to be able to participate, whatever it may be. So, him to have that second opportunity to be able to come back here and be able to participate with us and lead this football team is pretty special,” Flory said. Despite the challenges off the field, the Huskies remained strong both off and on the gridiron. The team won the Canada West conference and made it to the Vanier Cup. The Huskies, however, lost in a final score of 30-16 to the Montreal Carabins. Now, Amundrud shared that he and his teammates have their eyes on the prize heading into this season. “I’m hungry. I think this whole team is hungry. Obviously didn’t end how we wanted to end, and we fell short a couple times in the last five years. So, we know we have a goal at the end of the year, and that’s to win the Vanier and that’s everyone’s goal,” he said. Coach Flory echoed the sentiments, sharing that the team is focused on taking the season one day at a time in the hopes of creating a steady path towards the 2026 Vanier Cup. “We approach it all the same every year. Goals, expectations, all that kind of stuff. We expect to be playing in a Vanier cup that is just the standard that that we have,” Flory said. While the team is certainly focused on their goals for the upcoming season, Huskies’ defensive lineman, Nathan Jule said the team is undoubtedly thinking about how grateful they are to have number 11 back on the field. “It’s pretty special. Anton is a great quarterback and a better person, so it’s great to see him back out here. And we always had faith that he’d battle, he’s a fighter, so it’s good to see him back,” Jule said. Jule said those who were around last season certainly recall the emotions that came along with watching their captain go through such a difficult experience, which makes them all the more proud to see him back on the field. “Especially when you lose a guy like that, he’s a cornerstone for our team. He was in the middle of such a great year, so I think coming together around him and then, now that he’s back, it’s pretty special to have our leader back at the helm,” Jule said. Now fully in remission as of April, Amundrud has been working hard in preparation of returning to his role with the team. “Just coming out here and understanding that I can still do this. I’m back to normal, everything’s good to go. So just getting out here and getting that confidence again has been really good,” he said. Now, as he and his teammates prepare to start the year off with a preseason game against the University of Alberta on Thursday evening, Amundrud is sharing his gratitude for the love he received while he was away. “It felt great. Knowing the support I had [in] all Saskatchewan, all Canada, to be honest, was super heartwarming, knowing that people were behind me and it’s second to none. I mean, Saskatoon in general, the people around here, the support they were giving is just phenomenal, and I couldn’t be more grateful” Amundrud said. The Huskies will be facing off against the Golden Bears on Thursday at 7 p.m. on the Huskies homefield at Griffiths Stadium.
