REGINA — Saskatchewan Roughriders running back Quali Conley found himself needing a quick turnaround as he attempted to get his Canadian Football League career off to a solid start.
The 23-year-old former Cincinnati Bengals prospect originally tried to break into the league with the Montreal Alouettes this past spring, but a four-day stint at Als camp ended with Conley’s release.
The Roughriders came calling not long after, signing Conley on May 16 and slotting the 5-foot-10, 211-pound former Arizona Wildcats star into the line-up for their final pre-season game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers less than a week later.
Needless to say, that’s a pretty sudden change of scenery for a rookie player looking to to crack a line-up — but a welcoming environment helped Conley become a quick study, even if there was plenty to learn in a short amount of time.
“It's different for sure,” Conley told the Voice of the Roughriders Dave Thomas after a recent practice. “I feel like my teammates, they helped me adjust because before this I was in Montreal and it was a different atmosphere. So I feel like coming here, they really embraced me and yeah, the week I got here, it was a tough week.”
Conley had a single day to prepare for the game at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon, and ended up suiting up without even having a chance to take the field with his teammates.
“I really went into the game with no practice, just looked at the playbook, coach told me all the stuff I had to remember and stuff like that,” Conley said. “So it was just a lot of information, like getting the Montreal playbook out of my head and getting this playbook in.”
In the end, Conley showed enough that the Riders gave him handful of series against the Bombers, and he’d finish the contest with nine carries for 32 yards, including a long of eight yards.
RIders management liked what they saw enough to put Conley on the practice roster at the end of the pre-season — and now, he’s a matter of hours from making his official CFL debut.
With A.J. Ouellette sidelined with an ankle injury, Conley will get the start when Saskatchewan takes on the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium.
“The way Coach Mace teaches us, you don't know when your number is going to be called,” Conley said of being ready at all times for the opportunity. “So it’s just staying ready even if you're on scout team, just act like you're the guy and make sure that's your mentality.”
It all means Conley will have to put everything he’s learned about the CFL game in the last couple weeks to work, especially when it comes to getting the timing of the run game down.
“Just be a little more patient because the D-line is a yard off the ball, so the holes are probably gonna open up a little later,” Conley explained. “So you can't like rush into what we call ‘eye candy’. It looks good, but once you hit the hole, somebody is gonna come off and tackle you. So just pressing at the end of the day.”
Conley and the Roughriders take on the Argonauts at 7 p.m. on Friday, and you can catch the pregame show on the Rider Broadcast Network at 4 p.m., followed by Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder with the game call at kickoff.
