SASKATOON, Sask. – Huskie Football head coach Scott Flory is pleased to announce that longtime assistant and former Huskie cornerback, Cody Halseth has been named Defensive Coordinator.

"I am super happy to see Cody step into this new role," said Flory. "Promoting from within is a testament to the strength of our program and continues our core principles of recruiting, developing, and retaining talent, both on the field and the sidelines. Cody has been a vital part of Huskie Football for the last 15 years and truly deserves this opportunity. He will undoubtedly do an incredible job."

A member of the Huskie coaching staff since 2011, Cody Halseth now takes over defensive play-calling after serving as a defensive assistant specializing in defensive backs for the past 14 seasons.

Throughout his time on the Huskie sidelines, Halseth has helped produce some of the best passing defences in the nation, allowing the Dogs to earn appearances in five Hardy Cups (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024), three U SPORTS Bowl games (2018 Mitchell, 2021 & 2022 Uteck), and two Vanier Cups (2021, 2022).

The product of Outlook, Saskatchewan, has also helped to produce eight Canada West All-Stars, five All-Canadians, a national Defensive Player of the Year, and four CFL Draft picks.

"It's mostly just exciting," said Halseth. "There's obviously also a great sense of pride that I get to do something like this. I think back on all the people I've gotten to work with, and all the program has given to me. I think you feel a sense of duty and responsibility as you get older and move through it. It's an honour to have been with the team for as long as I have now in this new role. It's really exciting."

"We also have a fantastic staff and a lot of trust in the people around us. Scott [Flory] always brings in quality people who understand our program, our culture, and the importance of our program in the city."

Halseth takes over a Saskatchewan defence, which returns several key players, many of who saw significant snaps in 2024, with just three graduating players from a season ago.

"We had several injuries last year, so a lot of our younger athletes were forced to play earlier. Having that additional experience while returning several of our veterans is really exciting. We should have a lot of depth and be able to be complex yet simple while being able to move people around and be flexible. I think we can do a lot of exciting things with this group."

Halseth brings abundant coaching experience to the defensive coordinator role, having spent time on the sidelines of national and international competitions.

For the past 14 years, he has served as the High-Performance Director for Football Saskatchewan while coaching on the U18 Team Saskatchewan staff. There, Halseth helped Team Sask to four Football Canada Cup titles in 2023, 2022, 2019, and 2018.

He has also served on the U20 Team Canada staff which won the 2024 IFAF World Junior Championship just last August in Edmonton.

As a student-athlete, Halseth joined the Huskies ahead of the 2009 season after suiting up for the Saskatoon Hilltops. In two seasons (2009 & 2010), he appeared in eight games, totaling 28 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, one interception, and five pass breakups.

Halseth believes the Huskies can learn a lot from last season as the team looks to evolve for the upcoming campaign.

"I think last year showed it's hard to win, and it's hard to continue winning. You have to trust what you're doing as a program and unit, you also can't be afraid to reinvent yourself in some ways. You learn more from failures than successes, so I think we have to be adaptable and able to evolve. And I think we are in a good place for that right now."