Rory Kohlert

The 6-1, 203-pound receiver for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL this past March but was released in July prior to the 2011 season start. The year before that, he fractured his fibula at a CFL evaluation camp.

“Hopefully I get the opportunity again,” he said of becoming a professional football player in Canada.

Kohlert says his time spent in Hamilton taught him what he needs to improve upon.

“There was a lot to learn,” he said, listing route running and fending off defensive backs as the two areas of his game that improved the most while with the Tiger-Cats. “Defensive backs get their hands on you, so you have to be good with your hands. They were also really quick and that’s not what I’m used to. It was frustrating at times but I think I got progressively better at it. ”

Kohlert has applied what he learned in Hamilton to his game with the Huskies, stepping up as the Dogs’ top receiver this year with 18 receptions for 282 yards in 5 games. He sits sixth in the Canada West conference with 56.4 receiving yards per game.

“I don’t really think about it,” said Kohlert when asked about being the number one receiver for quarterbacks Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren and Trent Peterson. “I think it’s just Jahlani and Trent finding me” open downfield.

He added that a lot of receivers have been doing well this year and that the “offence isn’t based on one guy.”

While this may be true, the fifth-year player does offer something that most — if not all — current Huskies veterans can’t offer: Vanier Cup experience.

Kohlert’s first year of eligibility in Canadian Interuniversity Sport was in 2006. He was with the Dogs for their Vanier Cup loss to Laval that year and still lists that game as the most memorable moment on his Huskie Athletics athlete profile.

“I was a good experience but you realize now how hard it is to get there,” said Kohlert, adding that he’d love to see the team return to the championship this year for his final season of eligibility.

Following the 2006 season, Kohlert chose to take a year off from university.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” he said regarding the daunting task of choosing a major.

All Kohlert knew was that he needed to keep playing football.

Kohlert spent 2007 and 2008 playing with the Regina Thunder of the Canadian Junior Football League, where he acquired both all-star rookie and all-star offensive player honours.

In 2008, Kohlert attended the University of Regina but still played for the Thunder.

He decided to return to the Huskies in 2009 because he felt the University of Saskatchewan and its football program best served his academic and athletic needs.

Kohlert is now close to finishing a Sociology degree and said that while he’ll still pursue the CFL, he eventually wants to work as a police officer.

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Photo: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf