Q & A with Curtis Dingwall

Story: Brenden Escott

Q: Where are you from?
A: Born and raised in Prince George, B.C.—it’s a little bit nicer in Kamloops here.

Q: How did you get your start in football?
A: When I swapped high schools a guy approached me and wanted me to come play on the team, so that’s how it happened.

Q: What ultimately brought you to the Broncos organization?
A: I had some friends here and heard some good things about the organization coming out of high school. Plus it’s closer to home than all the other teams so I thought it’d be a good fit.

Q: How long have you been with the team?
A: This year is my third year.

Q: Having been around for some of the ups and downs with this franchise, how do you see the team finishing now with your 3-2 record entering the second half of the season?
A: I’m feeling pretty confident in our boys. I think we have one of the most talented rosters in the BCFC, at least; we’ve just got to put it together down the stretch. We’re looking really good right now, we’ve just got to fix the little errors and I think we’ll finish really well.

Q: Now that you’ve spent some time in Kamloops, what do you think of TCC and the city overall?
A: I love the weather. I love TCC—the gym is awesome. You get the pool right there when you finish working out, which is great. You get the track—everything pretty much. You want to come down and play some basketball; you’ve got the courts. It’s a great place to come down to. Again, I love the weather. It’s a lot hotter than Prince George. It’s just great here.

Q: Do you have a football idol, in the NFL or even just a community figure?
A: In the NFL I’ve got to say Luke Kuechly. He plays the same position, he’s the best at what he does, I mean, what can I say?

Q: Does that make the Carolina Panthers your favorite team then?
A: No, actually, I like the 49ers. He’s my favorite linebacker but I’ve got Navorro Bowman on the 49ers who’s pretty strong too.

Q: What do you believe to be your strengths as a player?A: I feel like I’m a little undersized, maybe, like I’m a little short playing at 5’9”. That’s not typical of a linebacker. But I’ve got some speed and explosion. I may not be the biggest guy but I can definitely bring it when it comes to running down the ball.

Q: Any areas you figure you could improve on?
A: Maybe just reading and recognition on the runs, and on some pass plays just picking up some speed coming down the road.

Q: When your football career comes to an end, do you have any other career plans? School, or otherwise?
A: I feel like I want to come to school—I don’t know where yet—but I want to do some physiotherapy stuff. I’m not totally set yet but I’ve got a lot of time to decide.

Q: Finally, you’re headed to the Island for the final time this year to take on the Westshore Rebels, who you guys beat quite handily at home the last time. What are you expecting to see out of that team this weekend?
A: I think they’re going to come out really hard. Their record doesn’t speak at all to how they play. They’re honestly not a terrible team considering what their record is. You watch the film, it doesn’t lie so they’re going to come out and give everything they have. This is pretty much their season right now—they’ve got to beat us to make playoffs—so they’re going to come out but we’re going to come out and play hard and we can’t take them lightly at all.