WINNIPEG — Saskatchewan Roughriders' quarterback Trevor Harris isn’t a big fan of change when it comes to taking the field in football games come CFL playoff time.
Generally, if you’ve reached the point in the season where championships are being decided, you’ve done something right to get there. Things have gone well enough, plans have come together, and players have performed at a high enough level that you’ve earned the right to play in the most important moments, so why mess around with a winning equation?
So, as his team prepares to face the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th Grey Cup on Sunday evening, that’s one of his messages to his teammates: don’t change a thing, because it’s what got us here in the first place.
“For me, it's stay true to who we are,” Harris said during Grey Cup week. “Just because it's the Grey Cup doesn't mean we have to turn into Superman and do all these different things. Go out and execute, do the game plan, do what we're supposed to do, and do what we've done all year, which is believe in one another, lean on one another, bind together, and have some fun out there.”
Of course, no matter how consistent you intend to be in your preparation and at game-time, playing in the Grey Cup is a whole ‘nother animal. The good thing is if something isn't completely new, as the way things work have been pretty consistent in recent years, with the busy schedule and many distractions a well-known quantity at this point. That means players can get a jump on off-field preparations well before they hit the host city, something Harris was sure to take advantage of.
That includes bringing his own workout machine along with him so he can put time in at the hotel and use every resource available to him away from the field.
“You have things of your own, so I bring things of my own, you can adapt,” Harris said. “I didn't have time to go to the stadium this morning and didn't want to Uber all the way over there before meetings this morning, so I got to workout in the pool. Then the team does such a great job of making sure our resources are here with [head athletic therapist] Greg [Mayer] and their staff, having the meeting rooms readily available, the film available, and so it's about how you are spending your time.”
Part and parcel of all the distractions is the media, and as one might expect, Harris has been a busy man in that regard. The 13-year veteran has taken it all in stride, though, dealing with the myriad of questions in his usual congenial fashion even if it isn’t quite his favourite thing in the world.
“It's definitely not my cup of tea. I'm more like one of those guys that loves my teammates, likes to play ball, but I do understand this and what it is,” Harris said. “But these are moments where I might look back and try and find some pictures of when people actually cared about what I said.”
Even with the whirlwind surrounding everything, the time will shortly come when it’s time to get down to serious business. To prepare himself for that, Harris is sticking to his own advice.
“Same process as always,” he said when asked about final preparations for Sunday. “Put together a list on one of my papers, things that I need to do to feel like I'm ready to play against this great defence, and make sure I check all those boxes. As soon as I feel that moment click in where it's like I'm ready, it’s going out there, trusting my instincts and letting it rip.”
Be sure to catch the Rider Broadcast Network Grey Cup pre-game show featuring Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk, Wes Cates, Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder at 2 p.m on Sunday, followed by the call of the 112th Grey Cup at 5 p.m.
