The way Trevor Harris was asked to operate for large stretches of last Friday’s win over the Ottawa Redblacks was unconventional for him, not that he minded one bit.
The most notable alteration was how often the Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback led a no-huddle or tempo offence, something usually reserved for trying to press for offence before the first half expires or when trailing late in a game.
“It’s a good change-up for us to do,” Harris said to reporters in Regina on Tuesday. “I’m not sure if it’s something we’ll do all the time, but it’s definitely fun because you get a lot of plays in, especially because you can kind of just feel a little bit of a rhythm.
“We operate pretty fast, and we’ve got a pretty wide variety and array of things that we can do out of our no-huddle (offence).”
Not only was it unusual to use a hurry-up style so often during the normal course of action, on the surface it was extra odd given that the Riders were without their two of their top receivers.
The absence of Kian Schaffer-Baker and Sam Emilus elevated players like Johnny Johnson III and D’Sean Mimbs into larger roles, while Dylan Djete was required to start his first CFL game.
Conventional wisdom suggests it would have been more helpful to use every second on the play clock to ensure everyone was on the same page. Harris didn’t see it that way.
“A little less time to think, but more reactionary stuff,” Harris said of what the approach meant to his receivers. “But those guys are in their books. I said after the game, I’m not sure that (receivers coach) Marquay McDaniel gets the credit he deserves for the array of receivers that we’ve had funnelled in and out over the last three years here.
“Every single time they go in there, they’re ready to play. They’re on point with their depths and timing and knowing where they’re at and where they’re supposed to be. … We have full belief in those guys.”
The belief in the receivers and the tactics was well-founded. The Riders took over in the second half of the game and won 42-20 on the strength of five touchdowns over the final two quarters. Four receivers had multiple catches in the game, and six different players caught balls.
With the outcome secured in the fourth quarter, Harris was tasked with his next atypical offensive look. This one needed a double take.
The Riders tried formations with two quarterbacks on the field. However, it was Tommy Stevens behind centre and not Harris. The latter, instead, was lined up as a wideout.
“We actually have like an extra wristband that we call our plays on. Trevor doesn’t have that wristband because he’s not going to call those plays unless I’m in the game,” Stevens explained. “I come in, I call the plays, and Trevor’s been great, too.
“You can watch him on the edge. He’s telling the (Ottawa) DBs to come guard him. It’s been really fun. The guys in the huddle, their eyes light up and they’re ready to go.”
Stevens joked that his advice for Harris was simple: “Stay out of the way and don’t get hit.”
Harris lining up as a receiver brought some levity on the field and on the game broadcast, but he insists such an alignment isn’t strictly a gimmick.
“I know who I am. Hey, anything's possible, right?” he said. “That’s essentially the threat of us shifting or whatever. We want to make sure that that is in the back of their mind.
“(Offensive coordinator) Marc (Mueller) does a tremendous job and keeps the defence guessing. There’s a reason I'm out there, so we’ll just keep it moving.”
