REGINA — Throughout the past week, the Saskatchewan Roughriders maintained a sense of hope that starting quarterback Trevor Harris would recover enough from a head injury and illness that he’d be able to start against the B.C. Lions on Saturday.
On Friday, the news became official. The team’s weekly depth chart revealed Harris is officially out of action for Week 4 at Mosaic Stadium and Jake Maier would be receiving his first-ever start at pivot for the Green and White.
“We did have a long week after the game last week, but mapping out the protocol, it just didn't line up,” head coach Corey Mace said about Harris’ recovery. “We've got a lot of confidence in Jake and we are moving into a bye week as well. A lot of things went into it, but ultimately you don't really want to risk it.”
The good news is the Riders have a proven starter taking the field in Harris' place. Maier was signed in the off-season as an insurance policy and will suit up at pivot against the Lions with 45 starts and 11,865 passing yards in four previous seasons with the Calgary Stampeders under his belt. That experience — including nine starts against B.C. — will be extremely valuable in Mace’s opinion.
“We did our due diligence in finding a quarterback that we've got faith in to go out there if something happens to QB1. He's here and he's ready to go,” Mace said. “It's a good thing to have that as a luxury. And when Trevor's ready, then he's the guy.”
Maier has spent a good portion of the past week taking first-team reps at quarterback. As a result he feels as prepared as possible heading into his first start with Saskatchewan.
“As a backup quarterback on any team, you never know when your number is gonna be called,” Maier said. “It's bittersweet because you want to make sure that everybody is ready to go and healthy and ready to play. But given the circumstances of the week and how it's all played out, I'm ready to step in and do what I can for the team.”
If there’s a distinct advantage Maier might have over any other back-up quarterback in the league, it’s his innate familiarity with the offence — Maier previous played under current Riders' offensive coordinator Marc Mueller while in Calgary. As a result, he has a pretty good idea of what to expect right from the get go.
“I have a lot of years in this system,” Maier said. "The terminology over the years is pretty consistent. I've been fortunate enough at a young age to play a lot of games and a lot of snaps in this offence. I have a lot of experience in the system and there's no surprises.”
That familiarity is one of the reasons the Roughriders have full confidence in Maier on Saturday, as Mace explains.
“Certainly with his experience within the offence and familiarity with the play caller, he's been tremendous,” he said. “Getting to sit in the same room with Trevor and seeing the way that Trevor sees things I think has only been beneficial for Jake as well. He's been pretty vocal about that. I know he's excited about the opportunity. Guys are all rallying behind him — nothing changes — we're still going out there trying to win a football game.”
As Mace alluded to, Maier has made a habit of being prepared as possible since day one joining the Riders, something he learned quickly in his earliest days with the Stampeders and playing behind standout quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell.
“You really never know, which is why you learn pretty quickly that you pretend like you're the starter,” Maier said. “I have tons and tons of hours logged in terms of that role. Now going into this week, it's like: ‘Okay, there's a question mark there.’ Now that heightens your urgency to make sure that when you go in there, the offence doesn't skip a beat and that's the goal.”
Maier is most certainly looking forward to the feel of taking the field as the starting quarterback — from the support of his teammates to the roar of the crowd, it’s always a special experience and that won’t change in game 46 of his career.
“If you don't play, you’re a supportive teammate and you love to be a part of it, but you don't really get that edge to you that you get when you're out there, your body's on the line and you're experiencing those real time moments,” he said. “To feel that in front of a home crowd that I know is going to be excited against a division rival, that's going to be one of those out of body experiences that you always look forward to.”
Catch the pre-game show on Saturday with Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk and Wes Cates at 2 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 5 p.m. You can hear everything on the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.