Fourth-year defensive end Brock Gowanlock has wreaked havoc as an edge rusher for the Manitoba Bisons over the past few seasons, turning into one of the nation's most feared players at his position as well as a top-level CFL draft prospect.

But he hasn't always been a lean 230-pound problem for opposing quarterbacks. When Gowanlock was first recruited to the University of Manitoba back in 2016, he was a 310-pound defensive tackle who was fresh off of a 14.5 sack season with the Langley Rams of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL), as well as a CJFL All-Canadian nod.

"I was always a bigger kid, which is what led me to playing defensive tackle," he says.

"I enjoyed playing it because it was a quick route to the quarterback. You're normally playing a one-step set rather than a kick step, so I enjoyed it because if you could get a quick move right off the line, you had a chance to get right in the quarterback's face."

It didn't take long for Gowanlock to realize he was going to have to shed some weight at the university level if he wanted to continue to thrive.

"The weight loss came on me. In our first game of the year [in 2016] we played against the University of Calgary and they ran a hurry up offence and it went straight from the three-minute warning all the way until halftime. I remember I was so tired I wanted to throw up in the garbage I was so out of shape. From that moment on I realized you can't just rely on being big at this level — you have to be in shape."

In order to cut some weight, Gowanlock sought out the advice of a nutritionist who helped him learn the steps to becoming gluten-free.

"It worked out pretty good, because when you don't eat gluten you don't eat cookies or muffins and all that kind of stuff. Now to this day it's more of a battle to put on the weight than keep it off."

Other tactics Gowanlock took were to only drink water and black coffee, because they don't have any calories, as well as eating a lot of veggies and experimenting with intermittent fasting. The latter resulted in him only eating from 1-9 pm, as the body goes into a state where your growth hormone and insulin levels are lower, which increases muscle gain.

The results for the Cowichan Bulldogs product were evident. The following year, at 260 pounds, he increased his tackle total from ten to 33 — good for fifth on the team — while also picking up two sacks and a team-leading three forced fumbles.

Last year Gowanlock cut down to his current weight of 230 pounds, replicating his stats from the year before while also earning an invite to the 2019 U SPORTS East-West Bowl, a showcase for the nation's top draft-eligible players. In a half of football, he had two sacks, once again proving that his combination of speed and power are tough to stop.

"East-West was great," he says.

"I really enjoyed getting to sit down and meet all the players. That was definitely a big surprise for me was I thought we were going to have a lot more egos in the room, but it was very welcoming. Everybody respected each other and we all knew why we were there. We all competed hard with each other and it was awesome."

This season, Gowanlock and the rest of Manitoba's defensive line have been a force.

Along with the BC native, CFL draft picks Derek Dufault, Chris Larsen and Samson Abbott have combined for five sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery through two games. If you factor in an exhibition game — along with the rest of the defensive line that includes Jared Lazarenko, Bojan Stevanovic, Kent Hicks, Cole Adamson and Jeremie Drouin — that total gets bumped up to 11 sacks.

Arguably more impressive, however, are the teams that Gowanlock and company have done their work against.

In week one it was the No. 5 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies, whose offence had ten starters back from the prior year's Hardy Cup-winning roster but were held to just 19 points. Then last week it was reigning Hec Crighton winner Adam Sinagra and the No. 4 ranked Calgary Dinos, who Manitoba shut out for the entire second half, something that doesn't happen often.

"Our d-line is awesome," says Gowanlock, who along with Dulfault were both named captains for the 2019 season.

"All of us know that each of us can do our job. We're all in there trying to make plays. We compete with each other to be better as a unit but we don't compete with each other within the group. I'd say all of us know our capabilities and strengths, and we know our weaknesses. We're always trying to help each other out and giving each other tips on how to be better. It's a very gelled unit and we obviously all enjoy each other.