Bisons wide-out eyeing CFL career

Senior Spotlight: Dylan Schrot

Manitoba Bisons' receiver Dylan Schrot (6) begins to celebrate as he runs into the end zone to score a touchdown against the Alberta Golden Bears', Saturday, September 15, 2018. (Trevor Hagan / Manitoba Bisons)

Wide-out Dylan Schrot finished his Bisons career with a season worthy of a Canada West All-Star team selection.

In nine games, the 24-year-old racked up 788 receiving yards and finished tied for second in the conference with six receiving touchdowns.

Now, the five-foot-10, 190-pound receiver is hopeful to continue his success into the CFL.

“I’m optimistic for what the future holds,” said Schrot.

“Right now, I’m in preparation for the CFL draft process and just going to continue to improve and try to get a shot in the league.”

Schrot said he knows a lot of work needs to be put in prior to draft day.

“They do a lot of athletic-based testing there,” said Schrot.

“Getting the body physically and mentally ready for that and after that you just hope you get an opportunity and continue to just work on your skills, size, speed, strength, all those things and see what happens.”

Schrot welcomes an opportunity to play for any CFL team but says being picked by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers would be a “dream come true.”

“Your first choice is always the team you grew up cheering for,” said Schrot.

“But, if another team is willing to give me an opportunity I’d be just as happy to play for them.”

Football was not always Schrot’s sport of choice.

“I grew up playing soccer actually,” he said.

“I played until I was about 14, played at the provincial level for Team Manitoba, just kind of fell out of love with the game going into high school and quit soccer and then picked up football in Grade 11 and kind of just took it and ran with it.”

It was during his second year of junior football that Schrot knew he wanted to see how far he could take the sport.

“I kind of had my breakout year that year and confidence was a lot higher,” he said.

“It was after that season I kind of told myself that I’m going to really push for this as much as I can and just try to be the best player I can be.”

Schrot played football in Calgary and B.C. before university, but decided to return home to play for the University of Manitoba.

“In the back of my mind I had always pinpointed U of M as my target,” said Schrot.

“Living in Calgary for a few years I thought maybe I’d play for them, but when it came time to decide where I want to pursue the next level, U of M was the one calling my name the most.”

Schrot had five years of junior football split between British Columbia and Calgary, so returning home had an extra dimension. Finally playing in Winnipeg again, Schrot’s family was able to attend his games a lot more.

“These past couple years have really been nice,” he said.

“Just being around them right after the games and just knowing that possibly my last ride in football was done in front of them.”

The 24-year-old has had many memorable moments with the Bisons, but a few recent ones stand out most for him.

In week three Schrot experienced his first win at Investors Group Field and played a big role in the comeback win.

“Fourth quarter we were down a field goal and I was fortunate enough to catch the two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and propel us to a win, so that was a big moment,” said Schrot.

This season’s homecoming game was another stand-out for the receiver.

“We were down 17 points with about five, six minutes left, and we rallied to force overtime,” said Schrot.

“We ended up losing on a two-point convert [in] that game, but it was an unbelievable experience to even make that comeback in the first place.”

If this season was in fact Schrot’s last ride, he will not be going far from sports in his post-football life.

The CFL draft hopeful has been pursuing an arts degree in psychology during his studies.

“I want to get into sports psychology,” said Schrot.

“Sports have been a huge part of my life, my whole life,” he said. “So I feel I would be well-suited to stay in that field.”

Schrot brought his education into the end zone during his first touchdown celebration at IGF.

“I did my little meditation pose after I scored a touchdown,” said Schrot.

“Just being big into sports psychology, meditation is something I do quite frequently, so I wanted to kind of shed light on that a little bit.”

That being said, Schrot said he wants to continue as a football receiver for many years to come and has an easy explanation as to why he loves the position: “Catching touchdowns.”