As John Trumpy enters his final season of football, he only has one thing on his mind: to win another championship.

The Saskatoon native is entering his second and final season with the Huskies, after completing five years of junior football with the Saskatoon Hilltops. Last year he joined a new team, learned a new playbook and proceeded to lead the Huskies in receiving yards with 495 and receiving touchdowns with five.

After a successful first season, Trumpy is looking forward to the challenges of the new year.

“I want to keep growing on what happened last year; I think that as the season progressed, I became a lot more comfortable with both the offence and the league. I just want to keep learning,” he said.

Trumpy has always strived to be better and that’s something his younger brother, Joseph, can attest to. Joey, as his friends call him, is in his first year with the Hilltops program also as a receiver and has looked up to his brother in a few different ways.

“I’ve heard stories from his past and present teammates about how well-respected he was and how well he treated his teammates, coaches and trainers, so he set the path for me on how to act,” Joey said. “As a younger brother, you always want to do better, so he set the bar for me and it motivates me to one-up him. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better role model.”

Trumpy has always had the drive to be better and credits his strong fundamentals to be a big part of his success. One of his favourite receivers was former Saskatchewan Roughrider Don Narcisse, who he tries to model his game after.

“My all-time favourite player is Don Narcisse. He was a guy that wasn’t known for his speed and I’m not really a fast guy either. Anything that was in his realm he was coming down with. My biggest thing is making sure I come down with the football when it’s in the air,” Trumpy said.

Aside from his football talents, Trumpy also plays guitar and piano on the side. His favourite artists right now are J. Cole and Drake, as he likes hip-hop music on his pre-game playlist. Along with his musical gifts, Trumpy is also a “math nerd” and says he’s constantly doing math problems in his head. His love of math transfers over to school, where he recently completed his bachelor’s degree in commerce at the Edwards School of Business.

Players who often work hard have a good attitude about them, which is completely true of Trumpy. Joey is “proud” of the way he treats his teammates and the way in which others speak of him. He says he has learned a lot just from watching his older brother.

“He’s taught me how hard you have to work and about grabbing an opportunity when it presents itself. I’ve seen probably 95 per cent of his games and I’ve seen him make some huge catches. He’s showed me how to play football, not in words but actions,” Joey said.

Trumpy credits his high school coaches Scott Hundseth and Brad Churnoda at Holy Cross for being a big influence on the football player he is today and is always quick to share the praises of his success.

“Scott Hundseth and Brad Churnoda were not easy on me when I was a young guy, and there’s some things that happened in high school that they were always around for. I credit a lot to what has happened in the past seven years to what they helped me with.

“Any good offence starts with the O-line and we have five guys who are going to protect Drew [Burko] and give him the time to deliver the ball. The other big thing is having five other good receivers. It doesn’t allow the defence to zone in on one guy and it frees me up a little bit. The coaches try to put you in a position where they want you to be successful,” Trumpy said.

Out of all his years playing football, Trumpy will look back on a handful of great memories, but one in particular stands out.

“Winning my second national championship with the Saskatoon Hilltops stands out. I was the oldest receiver on the team, with an older quarterback and running back and being able to see those guys win and knowing I was a big part of it is my favourite memory.”

Trumpy is hoping he can save the best memory for last and cap off this season with a Vanier Cup championship.