Saskatchewan Roughriders' quarterback Tommy Stevens knows opportunities are valuable and he did not want to waste any against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the fourth quarter during the Green and White's first preseason game.
"You don't really get to choose your hand. That was the opportunity I was given," Stevens told the voice of the Riders, Dave Thomas.
"Tried to make the most of it. We came up a little bit short, but we were able to put some things on tape; all in all, there is a lot to learn from those experiences that mean something, even if it's just a preseason game. It's important to me and the guys on the team. We wanted to win and I'm gonna bring the same energy again this weekend, hope to come out with a win."
The six-foot-four, 245-pound QB completed 2-of-3 passes for 21 yards and also rushed three times for 15 yards. Stevens is known for his efficiency in third and short situations. He credits the help of his teammates and coaches from his time with the Calgary Stampeders from 2022-2024.
"It's about all-around buy-in from the unit. I think that everybody needs to buy-in because all it takes is one guy to mess up on his job for the play to be a disaster," Stevens explained.
"I think that the coaches that we had in the past were able to put us in a good situation as far as the short yardage, but it all came down to execution. I thought that we did a very good job for my tenure there and hoping to build off that here."
Stevens had a previous relationship with Riders' offensive coordinator Marc Mueller, who was his quarterback coach in Calgary from 2022-2023.
"It's going to take some what we like to call growing pains because it's been a while. It's a little bit different when you're actually running it, so there's been a couple of practices where you unfortunately throw the ball right to the other team. You got to go through that stuff, but it's good to get those things out of the way and learn from them," Stevens said.
"I think it's been a really productive camp, I think it's been my favourite camp so far in the CFL and I feel like I've grown a lot from it."
The Riders signed Stevens in free agency and from word of mouth he had high expectations for what to expect from people in Saskatchewan.
"You hear from guys in the league that have been here, former teammates that I've had in the past that rave about the place, but it's really hard to describe it without being here and actually feeling it," Stevens detailed.
"I came in with high expectations from everything that everybody's already told me and still blown away by how great everything is. I've got nothing to complain about, so it's been great."