WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Reaching his fifth and final year of eligibility for the U of Manitoba Bisons, defensive end Brock Gowanlock is looking to have a massive year before moving on to the professional level. The Duncan, British Columbia native started his amateur career in the Canadian Junior Football League with the Langley Rams as a 310-pound defensive tackle. In his two years with the Rams, Gowanlock went from having only 2.5 sacks in 2014 to getting 14.5 sacks in 2015, earning him a spot on the 2015 CJFL All Canadian Team.

Gowanlock was then recruited by the Bisons after his dominant 2015 season and got a spot on the 2016 roster. Gowanlock’s success in the CJFL didn’t translate right away in University Football, he mentions in an article by Mike Still that his weight wasn’t an advantage and that it was actually holding him back.

“In our first game of the year we played against the University of Calgary, I was so tired I wanted to throw up.”

Since that game Gowanlock was dedicated and committed to losing weight, he hired a nutritionist and started following a strict diet. In his second year he had lost over 50 pounds and was also getting reps at defensive end, he immediately started seeing results on the field. He doubled his number of sacks, tripled his number of total tackles and led the team in forced fumbles in 2017. He continued to dominate in his third and fourth year and got invited to compete in the 2019 USports East vs West bowl, a game where the nation’s best athletes show off their talents to CFL coaches. His performance in that game would end up getting him drafted in the eighth round of the 2020 CFL draft to the Montreal Alouettes.

“Not a lot of players come out of USports and get a starting spot-on defence, but that’s something I am working on,” said Gowanlock in an interview with Kevin Rothbauer.

Gowanlock would ultimately get released by the Alouettes before the start of the 2021 CFL season which led to his return to the Bison for his fifth and final year of eligibility.

Gowanlock had an incredible start to the 2021 season as he was named the Canada West Defensive Player of the Week after getting eight tackles and recovering a fumble only to take it back 31 yards for what was the game-winning touchdown.

“Everybody realized that football is something that can disappear just like that with the flick of the switch, I just really felt in tune with the moment” explained Gowanlock in an interview with Taylor Allen.

In just his first game of his final season, Gowanlock is already looking to be a force on that Bison defensive line and he’s really shaping up to have a big year.

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