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| Colton Klassen is healthy and ready to play football. |
Back on October 26, 2019, the star utility offensive player
for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team went down with a
gruesome dislocated right ankle near the end of the first quarter of 22-9
victory over the University of Alberta Golden Bears at Griffiths Stadium. The
contest closed the regular season for both sides, which meant Klassen wasn’t
able to play in the Huskies two post-season games.
The graduate of Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders
football team hit the comeback trail with great focus and determination.
Miraculously at the beginning of March, he recovered to the
point he was ready to attend CFL scouting combines.
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| Colton Klassen (#7) with his Huskies teammates on Oct. 26, 2019. |
“Looking back on it, I’m trying to be positive with it,
because I know everyone is kind of going through the same thing right now with
there being no season,” said Klassen, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 200
pounds. “I know individually from the point I got hurt until now it definitely
went a way in which I never thought it would, and I don’t think anyone would
ever imagine happening.
“I’ve been lucky with my recovery. It has only been eight
almost nine months since I’ve had surgery. It is amazing how quick the body can
heal once you put the work in and put in the time.”
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| Colton Klassen leaves Griffiths Stadium after being injured on Oct. 26, 2019. |
He hasn’t been able to report to the Alouettes as the CFL
season still hangs in limbo due to the pandemic. That development hasn’t
deterred Klassen from his training.
“It is unfortunate that I didn’t get the chance this year at
least yet to go to a CFL camp or get to go and show what I can do,” said
Klassen, who caught 37 passes last season for 456 yards and two touchdowns and
was named a Canada West Conference all-star. “I’m definitely feeling good.
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| Colton Klassen returns a kick on special teams for the Huskies. |
Still, the bumps kept coming.
On June 8, U Sports cancelled all its fall national
championships including football, and the Canada West Conference cancelled play
in all team sports for fall because of the ongoing battle with COVID-19.
Just nine days into July, it appeared Klassen would lose the
potential opportunity to return to the Huskies for his fifth and final season
of eligibility. U Sports had at first decided to continue to enforce its age
cap rule for football, and due to the fact Klassen would be 25-years-old as of
Sept. 1, 2021, he wouldn’t have been eligible to play.
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| Colton Klassen, right, secures a catch in traffic for the Huskies. |
After again riding the roller-coaster this time because of
the age cap issue, Klassen couldn’t believe how many different adversities had
piled up, but he still wanted to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel.
“This year has just kind of been a punching bag in the
face,” said Klassen. “First of all the injury and then everyone has their
personal stuff to go through, so there is a lot of personal stuff to deal with
after the injury and everything going forward.
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| Colton Klassen has celebrated a lot of big plays with the Huskies. |
The graduate of the CJFL’s Regina Thunder found a saving
grace on June 8, when Ignite Athletics reopened after a government imposed
shutdown. Klassen, who was the offensive player of the year of the Prairie
Football Conference with the Thunder in 2015, was able to train again in a
group setting with his Huskies teammates, who live in Saskatoon.
He was happy to see athletes from other football teams and
other sports out at Ignite too.
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| Colton Klassen was selected by the Alouettes in the CFL Draft. |
“It is to get that social interaction aspect of your life
back in. I know for me the gym right now is my life. I love going there.
“I honestly don’t know what I would do without it or where I
would be right now or what condition I would be in. Honestly, that is one of
the things keeping me same right now.”
Going forward, Klassen is working for the day he gets to
play a game of football again.
“I try to have the mindset that I am still going to have the
opportunity to play football, and this virus won’t end it all,” said Klassen.
“With this hitting us, this is more than just football.
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| Colton Klassen looks forward to the day he plays a football game again. |
“It is just keep working and eventually we’ll be in a time I
believe that is more normal than it is now.”
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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