Saskatchewan Roughriders' receiver Dhel Duncan-Busby did not hesitate to answer about his goal for the 2025 CFL season.
"Win a ring -- that's it. I don't really care about my stats, that happens by doing your job," Duncan-Busby explained to the SportsCage.
"We want to bring a ring to Saskatchewan and that's really the only goal."
Last year was Duncan-Busby's rookie season. He suited up in seven regular season games for the Green and White and started six while catching 16 receptions for 188 yards. He knows he can improve from his first pro season.
"I got hurt at the beginning of the season, so I didn't quite start right off the bat. I put my all out there as best as I could. It was definitely rough, adapting to the speed of the game was definitely something that I had to learn on the fly," Duncan-Busby detailed.
"I've been around winning a lot in college, I won two conference championships, we had deep playoff runs. I feel like, in a way, being a part of the team and the energy that I like to bring, it contributed to the fact that we were winning. I would definitely say that a part of it was definitely my passion and my knowledge of the game. It was definitely where I excelled and I felt like I definitely showcased that last year."
Duncan-Busby spent his collegiate career with Bemidji State University, an NCAA Division II school, where they play in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. In his 2021 and 2022 seasons, the Beavers repeated as NSIC North Division Champions.
When Duncan-Busby went through the CFL Draft process, he had no idea which team was going to pick him.
"I honestly didn't necessarily know where I was going to go. I talked to all nine teams, especially at the Combine," Duncan-Busby said.
"The only team I didn't talk to was Montreal, but I talked to them earlier in the year in January at a showcase. Other than that, I talked to everybody, everybody seemed to like me. For a second, I thought that it could have potentially been B.C. because it seemed like it lined up at the right time. Saskatchewan picked me and honestly, I'm super grateful for it. I honestly wouldn't have it any other way."
Duncan-Busby remembers the interview process with coaches, general managers and scouts.
"鈥婭 remember Ottawa. They asked me about one of their plays, they led off with it. By the end of the interview, they're like: 'OK, do you remember the play? And then, do you remember what that meant? That was one of them that stood out," Duncan-Busby recalled.
"I remember one question that either Coach [Corey] Mace or Coach [Marc] Mueller asked me. They're like: 'Would you mind living in small town Regina? I was like: 'Honestly, I want to play wherever a team wants me. That was my overall answer to all the teams and the typical: 'Why would we draft you? What can you bring to our team and stuff like that? A lot of it was the stereotypical questions that you may think. It was a fun process overall."
After players are drafted, the athletes attend rookie camp, which begins on Wednesday, May 7 this year. Afterwards, the main training camp begins on Sunday, May 11.
"Rookie camp felt like you go out there, you do what you got to do. It was a base install that we got, it was like go out there and play football," Duncan-Busby said.
"Once main camp started, we went back to the same install that we did, but then we expanded on that playbook. By practice five, six, seven, and eight, it was like everybody was so locked in. I felt like the intensity, having the vets around was huge and interesting."
