Latest news with #DhelDuncanBusby
National Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Up Close: Meet Roughriders receiver Dhel Duncan-Busby
Dhel Duncan-Busby grew up shooting hoops. Article content It wasn't until his senior year of high school that the Vancouver-born, Ontario-raised receiver made the switch from basketball to football. Article content Article content Now a second-year member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders after being a third-round pick by the CFL club in 2024, Duncan-Busby has been a mainstay in the Green and White's lineup this season as he's been the only Canadian receiver to start all eight games for the club so far this year. Article content After making the switch to football while attending high school in Ohio, Duncan-Busby earned a football scholarship with the Bemidji State Beavers, where he had 27 touchdowns in 47 career games from 2019-23. And after making his CFL debut last year, Duncan-Busby hauled in his first CFL touchdown earlier this season on June 28 against the B.C. Lions when he caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Maier. Article content This week, as the Roughriders get set to host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday in Week 11 of the season, we caught up with Duncan-Busby to talk about his journey to the CFL: Article content Position: Receiver Article content Number: 18 Article content Age: 25 Article content Height and weight: 6-foot-1, 207 pounds Article content Where is home for you? Article content 'I grew up in Toronto, like Etobicoke-Brampton area. I kind of went back and forth between that. Article content 'I would probably consider home as Minnesota. That's where I went to college. That's where my girlfriend's at. So that's usually where I go in the off-season.' Article content 'My senior year of high school … 2016 would have been my first year of playing football. Article content 'It was new. It was just fun and new. It's really all it was. Article content 'It worked out in my favour. I mean you get the itch every now and then to play basketball, but I'm definitely glad where I'm at.' Article content Article content 'My mom and my dad were both coaches, so I was on a basketball court when I was like two months old. Article content 'I ran track; 400-(metre), 200-(metre) — those are my two favourite.' Article content Favourite football memory? Article content 'I would have to say probably the first touchdown here would probably be one of them. I won a couple of conference championships in college, so those are pretty special as well.' Article content 'I usually wake up in the morning super early. Take a nice, long shower. Depending on what time the game is, I usually get in here about three hours before. Go into the hot tub if we're home. Stretch out. Get a whole bunch of treatment done, and then I'm usually ready to rock. (Equipment) on at least an hour and a half before just so I can get a feel for the pads.'
CTV News
11-07-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Six Roughrider storylines heading into Week 6 against Calgary
Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Dhel Duncan-Busby (18) secures a catch during the second half of CFL football action against the Calgary Stampeders in Regina, on Saturday, October 26, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu The Saskatchewan Roughriders are headed into Week 6 of the Canadian Football League (CFL) season atop the West Division, but they may be facing their toughest challenge yet in the Calgary Stampeders Friday night. Calgary (3-1) sits second place in the division, just two points back of the Riders in first. '[Mosaic Stadium] should be mental,' Head Coach Corey Mace said. 'Friday night versus a good team: this is this is exactly what you envision when you're a part of this organization.' 'This will be a good one to watch,' he added. Roughriders ready to 'embrace the chaos' in hostile territory for West Final Saskatchewan will don their 'Obsidian' third jerseys Friday night against Calgary This is the first of just two meetings between the two teams in 2025 with many intriguing things to watch this week. 'You want to beat the teams ahead of you,' Calgary head coach Dave Dickenson told Stamps TV after the team's practice Wednesday. '[Saskatchewan] is ahead of us, that's what we did last week. They're off a bye, we're off a big win, both teams should enter the game with confidence.' 'A big challenge, no doubt about it,' he added. Undefeated Coming off a bye, Saskatchewan (4-0) is the lone remaining undefeated team in the CFL so far this season. Despite their best start to the season since 2008 when the Roughriders went 6-0 to start the year, quarterback Trevor Harris believes they have yet to play their best football. 'I don't think we've played clean games,' Hariis told reporters after Thursday's practice. 'Our defense has done a good job scoring touchdowns a few games for us, setting us up in good and putting us in good spots.' 'We are where we need to be,' Harris told reporters Thursday after practice. 'You hope we wouldn't lose some of the people that we have. At that point it's like, 'man, we're really decimated.' But here we are.' In 2024, Saskatchewan also started the season 4-0 but lost their fifth game of that season. Injuries a plenty Injuries have plagued the Riders across the board early this season. On offense, weapons like Samuel Emilus and Shawn Bane Jr. remain week-to-week with injuries, while RB Thomas Bertran-Hudon and Kian Schaffer-Baker remain on the six-game injured list. Saskatchewan also has four offensive linemen out with injuries. 'We're testing our depth early,' Harris said. 'Hopefully we get some of those guys back and we're able to kind of keep going up a notch. We're 4-0, but that doesn't mean anything at this point this week. We're trying to go 1-0.' On defense, DB Tevaughn Campbell is out with a groin injury. It is unknown if he will miss more time after this week. Linebacker C.J. Avery has also been on the six-game injured list after sustaining a bicep injury in Week 2. Stingy Stamps defence Through four games in 2025, Saskatchewan has scored a league-high 29.3 points per game, but their visiting opponent Stampeders have allowed just 20 offensive points per game – the fewest in the CFL. 'It's not really a shock where they sit currently,' Mace said. 'That's a good football team, and it's going to be a challenge for us. If we want to get to where we want to get to: we have to be ready to play teams like this. It'll be a great test.' Calgary also leads CFL defenses allowing just four plays of 30+ yards. Last time out against Winnipeg, the Stampeders' defense scored two touchdowns on interceptions. 'They do a tremendous job of doing what they do,' Harris added. 'Often the best defenses do that. They find out what they're really good at and they get really, really good at it. We're a difficult test for them as well.' Tale of two tailbacks Saskatchewan running back A.J. Ouellette has averaged over 6 yards per carry over his last three games, adding three touchdowns as well. In all three games, Ouellette rushed for more than 90 yards, including his first 100+ yard rushing game as a Roughrider Week 4 against B.C. '[Ouellette] is a downhill runner who makes one cut and gets up the field from there,' Stamps' DL Jaylon Hutching said. On the Calgary side, Dedrick Mills also has three 90+ rushing yard games this season. He is averaging 4.8 yards per carry and he leads the league with five rushing TDs. 'They have a great running attack,' Saskatchewan linebacker A.J. Allen said. 'It's one part of it is just attention to detail. Be where you're supposed to be, that's half of the running game itself. Trust your teammates, trust the scheme – that's the biggest part of stopping the run and being gaps down.' 'He's explosive runner,' defensive lineman Micah Johnson said about Mills. 'But he still has the ability to run in between the tackles and make [you] miss. For us, he has great vision and can make you pay if you're undisciplined in your gaps.' Mitchell Picton and A.J. Ouelette Mitchell Picton A.J. Ouelette Saskatchewan Roughriders Harris record watch Harris has won a career-best seven consecutive regular-season starts going into Week 6. Over that span, he has passed for over 70 per cent in each game; one short of the CFL record (8) – a record Harris holds, alongside Dane Evans. 'No pressure,' the QB joked when asked about the record. 'I did not know that and I won't think about it, honestly. If it doesn't happen tomorrow , start a new streak next week.' The Rider pivot is a career 3-11-2 against Calgary. Calgary dominance in Regina The Roughriders have won four of their last five games at Mosaic Stadium. The team's only loss in that span is against Calgary Week 21 of 2024. In fact, the Stampeders have won 10 of the last 11 games in Mosaic Stadium. Stamps QB Vernon Adams Jr. has a career record of 4-2 versus Saskatchewan. He needs two TD passes to reach 100 in his career. Ahead of what may be the most anticipated game of the 2025 CFL season so far, Harris poked fun at the Stampeders' recent win – a game dubbed the 'Stampede Bowl.' 'Whatever gets the fans excited and here to watch some great football, I'm all for it,' he said. 'Call it whatever you want. Call it the 'Rider Bowl,' if you want to.' 'This is a battle of two good teams to start the season. Who we're going to beat later in the season will be completely different. And to me, it's about what type of team will be coming in [Friday].' Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium and on TSN.
CTV News
04-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Riders' Duncan-Busby wants to takeoff in sophomore year
Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Dhel Duncan-Busby (18) runs the football against the Ottawa Redblacks during the second half of CFL football action in Regina, on Saturday, September 28, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu With a full year now under his belt in the CFL, Saskatchewan Roughriders' receiver Dhel Duncan-Busby wants to follow in some his teammates' footsteps in his second season with the Riders. Sam Emilus broke out in his second season back in 2023, to the tune of 70 receptions for 1,097 yards and six receiving touchdowns. Kian Schaffer-Baker enjoyed similar success in his sophomore year with the Riders in 2022, with 68 receptions for 960 yards and five touchdowns. So, Duncan-Busby has two mentors on the squad that have been in his position before and enjoyed success. 'They come up to me all the time to help me out if I'm ever running something a little incorrectly or if they have a better way that they might do it, they'll tell me how they would do it if they were in my shoes. So, I mean it's definitely great to have guys like that around,' Duncan-Busby said. Duncan-Busby told CTV News that he is still learning the intricacies of the professional game. 'I would say the physicality of the game, there was definitely times where I felt like I was a little slow getting to certain positions and I would end up getting outmatched in a way, just by being in the wrong spot. So, being more physical, being a little bit faster, being a little bit more assignment sound is what I'm focusing on this year.' Riders' head coach Corey Mace believes that Duncan-Busby spending a chunk of time on the special teams unit in 2024 has helped his maturation process with the physical part of the game. 'As a pass-catcher, he had a hellacious college career, smooth route runner. Yeah man, I again, sophomore year, if that's the deal around that's been happening around here let's keep that rolling, we'll take that with Dhel,' he said. Duncan-Busby and Mace are both heading into their second seasons with the green and white, and after a western final loss at the hand of the rival Bombers in 2024, the goal is clear this year. 'Our motto this year is we're on the clock. That just means that we're due, we're ready just to take that next step. Last year we came so close but so far at the same time, so now it's just cleaning up all the little things, and we're ready to rock, that's all I know,' Duncan-Busby said. The first of many steps will come on Thursday night at home against the Ottawa Redblacks.
