PHOTO CREDIT: Huskie Athletics
Seth Hundeby is a Huskie with quite an impressive pedigree.
His mother, Tracey, played basketball with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
An uncle (Curt Hundeby) and cousin (Ian Hundeby) preceded Seth on the Huskies football team.
So did Seth’s great uncle, David Williams.
“It’s super-duper cool, knowing that a lot of my family has gone through the same thing — pre-game jitters and being on the field and making plays and watching film and having that camaraderie with the team,” the 22-year-old U of S linebacker says.
“You can try to describe it, but I feel like you can only live it. Knowing that a lot of the Hundebys have lived it, it’s fun to talk about and really share the experience with them.”
Curt Hundeby, an offensive lineman, was selected by the Montreal Alouettes in fifth round (42nd overall) of the 2005 CFL draft. He is now the head football coach with the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders.
“He has been a really big influence in my football career,” says Seth, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound graduate of Saskatoon’s Holy Cross Collegiate.
“When I was in Grade 9, I was supposed to be a running back. We were in P.A. and they scored a touchdown on us early and the coaches were like, ‘We need someone to be a linebacker. Seth, you’re up!’ I had never played linebacker.
“My uncle lives in P.A., so he was at that game. I was like, ‘Curt, what do I do?’ He said, ‘Basically, for today: See ball, get ball.’ That actually kicked off my linebacking career.
“It was really cool to have him on the sideline, giving me some tips and stuff like that, because I was completely fresh to it.”
Seth’s aptitude to a new position quickly became evident.
“Honestly, it kind of clicked, because I really liked punt and kickoff (coverage on special teams),” he recalls. “I realized, ‘This is kind of like punt and kickoff all the time! You just go and tackle people.’
“It worked out really well. I really enjoy linebacker.”
What’s not to like?
In addition to excelling at Holy Cross under Head Coach Scott Hundseth, Hundeby made an impact nationally while playing for Team Saskatchewan at the Football Canada Cup.
He was named the defensive MVP of two games and was ultimately decorated as the top defensive player at the 2019 tournament.
Hundeby has also represented Canada, having played in the 2020 International Bowl.
“I’m just so grateful to be given the opportunities, whether it was when I was younger and I was on Team Canada and Team Sask, to now,” he says.
“I’ve really got to thank my high school coach, because he was like, ‘So, Seth, what do you want to do after high school football?’ I said, ‘There’s stuff after high school football for me?’
“He said, ‘I’ll be honest with you. You can have a career in football if you want.’ I was like, ‘Whoa!’ I had no idea that any of that was even a possibility.
“It’s just so surreal that I have a lot of these opportunities and I’ve been doing as well as I have. It has been a lot of fun.”
With the Huskies — one of many provincial football programs that receives support from the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation — Hundeby has played in the 2021 Vanier Cup and earned Academic All-Canadian honours.
The 2024 Huskies are to begin their regular season on Saturday in Winnipeg against the University of Manitoba Bisons. That will be his second-last season opener in the Canada West ranks.
“I’m very conscious of how time just flies by,” marvels Hundeby, a fourth-year Huskie.
“Even for our pre-season game, I was running out of the (inflatable) dog and kind of soaking it in while I was standing next to the guys.
“Every fifth-year player gives a little speech and they say, ‘It goes by fast.’ I remember thinking, ‘OK, five years … that’s a long time.’
“Talking to some of the guys who I was recruited with, I was saying, ‘Guys, we’re the old guys now!’ ”
If, of course, anyone in their early 20s can be considered old.
“It feels like just yesterday that it was COVID and there were all these massive dudes and we were all just out of high school and kind of nervous,” Hundeby continues. “I said, ‘Now we’re those old guys!’
“Having that kind of understanding that this is going by really fast, taking each game and slowing it down and savouring it is something that I’ve been really focusing on.
“It was even like that in training camp, which is not everyone’s favourite. I was really trying to enjoy walking with the team for lunches and stuff like that. I’m definitely savouring the moments this year.”
It happens to be his draft year.
“As I’m kind of getting older, it has always seemed like kind of a fantasy to ever make it to the CFL,” Hundeby says. “It was like, ‘Those guys are so big, so strong, so fast.’
“Now that I’m kind of coming to the end of my university career and realizing that this could be a real opportunity, I’m very excited at potentially getting paid to play football and that being my occupation. That seems like a super-wicked fun thing that I would love to pursue.”
But that is not his immediate priority.
“In the off-season, I was kind of thinking about it,” Hundeby says. “But honestly, now that I’ve been with the guys, I think that it will take care of itself if I have fun with the boys and stick with the program.
“If my abilities are there, then the CFL will become an opportunity for me. It’s not going to be something that I’ll really try to focus on.
“Every game, I’ll just focus on getting a win and playing for the boys, because I only have so many days as a Dog.
“I’m enjoying the time that I have. Then, whatever happens will happen.”
