Crystal Lake native Chris Streveler hoped to earn the third-string quarterback job for the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers last summer.

Instead, the Marian Central graduate started Week 1.

Streveler signed with Winnipeg after two standout seasons at FCS Division I South Dakota. An injury to Blue Bombers starter Matt Nichols and an abrupt retirement by backup Darian Durant led to Streveler stepping into the starting job. He became the first rookie out of college to start Week 1 in the CFL since 1994.

In total, Streveler started four games last season and played in 18. Streveler will return to Blue Bombers training camp in May, assuming the league and the CFL Players’ Association can agree on a new contract before the current one expires May 18.

Streveler recently spoke with the Northwest Herald about his offseason in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, his first season in the CFL and what’s next.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What are you up to this offseason?

Streveler: I have an internship with a company called Sanford Health. I work at [Sanford Pentagon] – it’s a basketball arena – and also [Sanford Fieldhouse] – it’s a weight room and indoor field. I’m helping train some high schoolers and helping do some facility maintenance, set-up, tear-down type stuff, event management. Doing a little bit of everything, trying to get some real-world experience, so to speak, outside of just playing football.

You’ve been working out with former South Dakota State rival QB Taryn Christion. What’s that like?

Streveler: Yeah, we’ve been throwing together twice a week. He’s been getting ready for his Pro Day. It’s been fun to get to know him a little bit better, as opposed to just seeing him across the field. When you’re working with someone who is talented, like him, you want to do better and work harder.

What was 2018 like?

Streveler: It’s been a fun ride. Starting out in Winnipeg and how the beginning of that season went, getting to progress and grow – not only as a player, but with my teammates and as a professional – it was fun to get to see the growth in myself from the first game to the last game. That’s why I was so excited going into this offseason to have a full offseason to work on the things that I wanted to improve on.

Did you ever expect you would start Week 1?

Streveler: Definitely not. When I signed, I was signed to compete for that third-string job. Our backup guy retires, and Matt, unfortunately, gets injured that last practice in camp. It all happened fast, and my mindset going through the whole thing was just, as a young player, you want to earn your stripes, put your head down and try to get better every day.

When you’re playing a new game and a new system, going from college to pros, there’s a million things you’ve got to get better at. My way of attacking that was on a day-by-day basis, going out and practicing, doing the best I can, learn from my mistakes in film and try and correct them the next day.

What’s Matt Nichols like, and how much did you learn from him?

Streveler: He’s a good guy. He really helped me out a lot. He’s been in the league for –this is going to be his 10th year. He’s obviously a veteran guy who’s seen a lot of stuff. I just stayed in his hip pocket the entire season. It’s fun to have somebody like that, that you can bounce ideas off about the game plan. He really helped me take my preparation and the way I approach the game to the next level.

What aspects of your game are you focusing on this offseason?

Streveler: I can improve on everything. I really just want to continue to get more comfortable with our offense and recognizing defenses. That was something that continued to happen throughout the whole season, but as you watch film through the offseason and continue to do drills, I feel like it helps speed up that process of becoming more comfortable with the Canadian game.

How hard was that adjustment to the Canadian game?

Streveler: It’s a process. There’s 12 guys on offense, 12 guys on defense. The offense, a lot of the concepts are similar, but it’s a different speed to the game. Going from college to pro, there’s always going to be a transition period.

What was the reaction like from home and from friends and family last season?

Streveler: It was a lot of support from my family and friends. There’s a lot of supporters out in Vermilion [South Dakota] that followed all of the games. I’ve got family back in the Chicago area, as well. It’s really cool when something like that happens and everyone is there supporting you. It really made that a lot of fun for me. Not only the time I was starting, but the whole season.

I come back to Vermilion and people are constantly telling me they were watching all the games, had them on at the bar. I know these people would never watch the CFL, but being from USD and the Crystal Lake/Woodstock area, people just followed because they care about you, and they support you. That was the coolest thing about this offseason is getting to talk to people who followed it and supported.

I’m sure you’re sick of this question, but is the NFL a goal in the future?

Streveler: My answer to that is always, and this is really how I feel: I want to be successful in the Canadian Football League. To be successful in the Canadian Football League, you have to have a certain respect for the game, and that’s something that I definitely gained from the minute I got up there. The level of competition that there is up there – the level of players – I don’t think a lot of people in America understand the level of players that are up there, and the competition is very high competition. You’re not going to be successful if you don’t respect that.

If you overlook it and say, ‘I want to get back to the NFL,’ you’re not going to have success at the CFL with that mindset. My mindset every day is: I want to be the best CFL quarterback I can be. I want to respect the game. I want to put in my preparation, put in the work in order to do that. I don’t really think about the NFL at all right now.

Do you feel like you proved you can play in the CFL last year?

Streveler: I don’t think I ever went out with the mindset that I need to prove that I can do this. I want to do the best I can and make the most of my opportunities. That’s what it comes down to at any level, but especially at the professional level. When you get an opportunity, you want to make the most of it.