Racking up nearly 200 receiving yards in a 51-14 stomping of the visiting UBC Thunderbirds on Friday night, University of Saskatchewan Huskies veteran receiver Daniel Wiebe was simply on fire.
But taken in the context of the last five years of his time playing at Griffiths Stadium, his performance in the Huskies’ homecoming game was nothing out of the ordinary, according to his teammates.
“He’s not bad at football, I’ll be honest,” said Huskies linebacker Seth Hundeby. “He’s ridiculously fast, a good guy, love hanging around him. Man, I just love watching him get the ball.
“He’s so fast, so fast.”
Wiebe recorded one of the best single-game performances of his decorated Canada West career on Friday, with his pair of touchdowns driving the Huskies to a 2-0 start to their season with a dominant victory over the Thunderbirds.
The first of which came in the second quarter with a 79-yard strike to the Rosetown, Sask., product from quarterback Anton Amundrud, who had his own career night with 385 yards passing and four touchdowns.
“He’s Daniel Wiebe, we’ve seen it time and time again,” said Amundrud. “If there’s a chance to get him the ball, I’m going to try to do that because he makes me look good.”
When asked about the play he made to haul in the catch and break free for the score to open the game, Wiebe gave the credit to Amundrud and the offensive line for buying him time to get in position to make the catch.
“It was a great throw by [Amundrud],” said Wiebe. “It was an absolute dime, it makes it easy for me. I’m really just doing what I can to help the team out. It was good to get in the end zone there.”
After leading the conference in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns last season, Wiebe is once again at the focal point of the Huskies’ offence two games into the 2025 Canada West campaign.
Coaching Wiebe over the past four seasons and watching him emerge into one of the best receivers in western Canada, Huskies head coach Scott Flory is seeing the fifth-year veteran create even more separation against defensive backs.
“I told him that he’s not covered until someone shows they can cover him, to be honest with you,” said Flory. “He’s playing at a different speed right now. He’s a phenomenal young man, he’s a leader on this football team and he just makes plays. We’ll keep finding a way to get him the ball, that’s not going to be a secret.”
Wiebe has returned for his senior year with the Huskies after being named a unanimous Canada West all-star in 2024, where he exploded for 807 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in eight games played.
That performance was enough to convince the Saskatchewan Roughriders to use their eighth-round selection on Wiebe at the 2025 CFL Draft, picking the small but speedy wide out at 69th overall.
Along with Hundeby, who was also chosen by the Roughriders in the same draft class, Wiebe joined the team at training camp in May and made his professional debut with the club in a pre-season contest against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
It’s experience he has now brought back to Griffiths Stadium, as the Huskies chase a championship.
“The experience there is like nothing else,” said Wiebe. “You get to learn a lot, you get to know the game a little bit deeper and just having that experience against pro players helps a lot. Bringing that back to the team is huge.”
Recruiting Wiebe out of Holy Cross High School back in 2021, Flory has seen the fifth-year receiver grow into one of the Huskies’ captains and a leadership presence within the locker room.
“It’s just him,” said Flory. “Since he showed up here, you knew that he was something special. Through the recruiting process we went after him so hard to get him here, you know that there’s something there. His work ethic is just second to none, it’s not just talent.”
Wiebe’s time with the Huskies program will be drawing to a close in a matter of months with the professional ranks waiting, though he’s keeping his attention on every snap and route ahead this fall.
Aiming to close out his collegiate career hoisting the 2025 Vanier Cup in Regina this November, the only trophy which has eluded him over his time with the Huskies.
“My goal is just to be present in each moment and just stay here,” said Wiebe. “I’m not too focused on what might be, what might not be. I’m just trying to focus on this moment and let that just take me. A 100-per cent effort, that’s really my focus this year.”
The Huskies (2-0) will aim to keep their undefeated record alive on Saturday night, hitting the road for Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba Bisons (0-2) with kickoff for their Week 3 tilt set for 5 p.m.