‘Pedal to the metal ever since’

By Arash Madani, Special to CW

It was the first evening in October and Day 3 practice was going into the night. Nathan Jule, the ferocious Huskies pass rusher, stood with his hands on his hips between reps, his body aching from a long week of workouts between Saskatchewan wins over nationally ranked opponents.

In those games, by the time the fourth quarter rolled around against Regina and UBC, Jule was wiped. Running on fumes after two years away from it all because of a right knee that just couldn’t properly heal.

Amidst the soreness and the fatigue, a smile broke across Jule’s face under the lights at practice. This is what he had missed. All of this. The bus rides, the locker room after a win, even the nine-hour bus ride home from Manitoba with the boys. And knowing that he was leaving everything he had out on that field to the point of exhaustion and pain meant he was back to the level he wanted to be – performing as one of the premier defensive players in Canada West football.

With that ear-to-ear grin, Jule had a near out-of-body experience. A self-check. A realization right out there on the practice field.

“Man, this time last year? I’d have given anything I had to be in this position,” Jule says. “All of this now has added a layer of gratitude.”

**

Those around the Huskies tell you Nathan Jule isn’t much of a conversationalist. Quiet kind of fella, all six-foot-two and 250 pounds of him. Away from football, he’s a physics major who digs into numbers. Off-campus, he enjoys being out in the woods or on hikes and in the outdoors away from the noise.

“Not a lot of hoorah from him,” is how his defensive coordinator Cody Halseth puts it.

See, there are non-negotiables in Big Nathan’s mind of what it means to be a football player. The work ethic, the weekly game planning and the film study that comes with it. Talk to people around the Huskies and they’ll tell you that on the grass, the motor and effort is never a question. And during positional meetings, it’s Jule taking notes, it’s Jule asking the right questions. It’s Jule’s ability to self-correct if he makes a mistake on a play.

So, when Jule’s voice is heard, it means business – especially if he senses something is off.

“He is not afraid to call guys out if they’re not doing what they’re supposed to do,” Halseth says. “Nathan exceeds the standard.”

Except the issue was, for two long years there was no football in Nathan Jule’s life. In the 2023 playoff semi-final against Alberta, coming off a conference all-star regular season, he tore the ACL in his right knee, again. It had first happened Week 3 against Regina the previous fall. And now a long road back awaited him.

Except.

Except the recovery on the second surgery wasn’t as smooth as the first. There were lingering problems, ongoing pain. Jule wasn’t in a place to return for the 2024 season and no matter what treatment he tried, there wasn’t progress anywhere near enough to play last year either.

Doctors, trainers, physios, all were trying to find answers. And couldn’t.

“Everyone was frustrated at it,” says Jule. “Nothing was working. Anything we tried, we got nowhere with it.”

Mentally, it was a rollercoaster for a young man who was still around the program but couldn’t contribute when it mattered. Beyond that, there were teases. At times, it felt Jule was trending upwards. It looked like there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

“And then the next morning you’re hurting and it’s swelling up again and you crash back down and you’re like, ‘What the hell? I thought I’d be good this time,’” Jule said. “You’d have good days and then really, really crappy days. And weathering that was one of the biggest challenges.”

Two years away and nobody gave up on Jule. Not head coach Scott Flory, not his defensive coordinator, who still welcomed him into meetings. The defensive line room was in his corner.

“It does get lonely when it’s down,” Jule says. “It’s good to have good people around you.”

After last year’s Vanier Cup, which Jule could only helplessly watch as Montreal pulled away to win over his Huskies, Jule sat down with his family to let them know how hellbent he was to suit up this season. “I’ve dedicated so much time to this, I need to play a game,” he told his parents and brother, Thomas, a receiver with Saskatchewan. “If it’s the last thing I do, I need to play another football game.”

Not long after, the decision was made to go with a PRP injection into that right knee. It happened in December and he was told to keep it straightened for six weeks.

“Bring out the crutches, part three,” he now says, with a grin.

The third time became the charm. No more inflammation, no more swelling, no more setbacks, not much pain. Jule was back in the gym, quickly. He was rolling through spring camp and showed up to Saskatoon in mid-August on a mission.

“Pedal to the metal ever since,” he said.

“He hasn’t lost a step. It’s pretty incredible,” says Halseth. “It’s amazing how quickly he’s gotten back into form. It’s like he’s been here all the time. Nothing’s changed.”

Opponents sure think so. Jule is constantly taking on double teams. They are paying attention to where No. 50 is lining up. Jule doing his job is freeing others up on defence to make plays, and they are.

If you put on the Huskies tape, you see Jule is still extremely quick, even after all the knee issues. With his immense size, he can bring power, but that speed and explosiveness is still his greatest asset. Want to see who is running to the football, over and over? It’s Jule.

“We’re getting everything we expected from him,” says Halseth. “He’s not afraid to do the hard things either.”

Jule’s comeback felt complete when he finally got to the quarterback for his first sack of the season. It was late in the game against Calgary. The Dinos went for it on third down. Jule got home. The Huskies sideline erupted. Thomas was jumping around.

“I had forgotten how fun this all was,” Nathan says.

The fun. The standard. The grind of the practice week. The drain of game days. All of it is back for Nathan Jule.

“No matter what happens, I’m playing football again,” says Jule. “And that’s the main thing.”

Up Next

The No. 4 Huskies (4-1) will welcome Manitoba this weekend as they continue their pursuit of the conference's top seed ahead of the BioSteel Hardy Cup Playoffs. Kick off this Friday is set for 7 p.m. CST from Griffiths Stadium. Fans can stream the game on BioSteel Canada West TV, or watch on SaskTel max TV Ch. 49.

About the Author

Well known to sports fans across Canada, Arash Madani is a national sports broadcaster who has travelled the world covering some of the biggest events in sport. Canada West is proud to welcome Arash as a contributor to its football coverage team for the 2026 season.

About Canada West:

Canada West has been Building Champions Since 1919. As the leading university athletic conference in the country, Canada West is home to student-athletes that excel in the classroom and their communities. The conference is comprised of 18 member institutions spanning from Victoria to Winnipeg, with over 3,200 student-athletes competing across 14 sports. Canada West’s mission is to train leaders and build champions by providing leadership in the delivery, regulation, and promotion of university level high performance sports programs throughout western Canada.