As the Tiger-Cats prepare for the biggest game of the 2015 regular season so far, they do so with a third (and fourth) quarterback under centre.
It won’t be Zach Collaros or Jeff Mathews that leads the Ticats offence against the Redblacks in the season finale; instead, it will be Jacory Harris or Jeremiah Masoli.
With Collaros sidelined for the season with a knee injury and Mathews held out of the game with a head injury, the Ticats will turn to the two men who typically don red jackets as the sideline signal-callers each week.
Jacory Harris
Harris led the Ticats final drive of last week’s game against the Redblacks and finished the team’s Week 13 contest against the Eskimos. In his two 2015 appearances, the second-year CFLer is 10-for-17 for 119 passing yards, with one rush attempt for seven yards.
The 25-year old from Miami is accustomed to playing in meaningful football games, starring for a 6A high school before becoming one of the most successful quarterbacks in University of Miami history.
Harris led his high school to a 30-0 record, winning state and national championships with Northwestern Senior High School, bringing home the 6A state championship MVP award in 2006.
After high school, Jacory was recruited to play for one of the most historic and biggest college football programs in the U.S., suiting up for the Miami Hurricanes. Donning the Green and Orange in front of an average of 49,000 fans each week, Harris thrived for the Hurricanes.
In four seasons with the Canes, the current Ticats pivot threw for the second-most (70) touchdowns and second-most passing yardage (8,826) in the program’s history. As a sophomore, Harris was recognized as a semi-finalist for the Davey O’Brien award as the best quarterback in the nation.
Jeremiah Masoli
Masoli appeared in three 2014 games for the Ticats, playing in two against the Stampeders and one against the Eskimos; he has yet to enter a CFL game this season.
Also no stranger to big games, Masoli attended two different prep high schools, one in California and the other in Hawaii. The California native was schooled as a quarterback by the same coach as recent #2 overall NFL draft selection Marcus Mariota, at St. Louis High School in Hawaii.
After high school, Masoli attended City Junior College, leading the team to a state and national championship in his freshman year. Masoli earned MVP honours in the state championship game and was recognized as the NorCal Conference offensive player of the year, passing for 3,592 yards and 30 touchdowns with a 61.3% completion percentage.
His outstanding play in Junior College resulted in an offer to play at Oregon for the Ducks and Masoli continued to turn heads while there. Masoli routinely impressed in front of over 58,000 fans, establishing himself as one of the most exciting players in Division I football.
In two seasons with the Ducks, he was named the team’s first-year player of the year (2008) and the team’s most outstanding player (2009). Masoli was named the PAC-10 offensive player of the week on three occasions, earning recognition as 1st Team All-PAC 10 in his second season in Oregon.
Masoli spent his final season of college football in the SEC, the conference that many consider to be the nation’s biggest college conference. Suiting up for Ole Miss, Masoli set the school’s single-season rushing record for quarterbacks (544 yards), finishing ninth in the conference in total offence.
It’s no understatement to say that both Masoli and Jacory Harris boast impressive football backgrounds, but if their resumes don’t speak to their ability to lead the Black and Gold offence, their work ethic with the Ticats should.
The two quarterbacks are typically two of the last players on the football field following a Ticats practice, routinely remaining on the field for up to an hour after the final whistle is blown.
Naturally, the two gunslingers require targets to practice with, and that responsibility often falls on Tiquan Underwood and Kealoha Pilares. The four will go to work every day, sometimes in pairs and sometimes as a group, going over route after route, pass after pass.
“Both of them are professionals, they’re hungry,” said Pilares. “Sometimes when your’e in the background you don’t take accountability for your position on the team, but I can honestly say that both of them have put in the time.”
Pilares, who joined the team just under two months ago, immediately struck up a friendship and work partnership with Masoli. Within a few days of Pilares’ arrival, the two could be found working together from the moment the final practice whistle was blown until long after.
“I’m the kind of guy that’s going to come in and work,” explained Pilares, when asked what drew him to Masoli, “some people want to work and some people don’t. Miah noticed that I’m going to come out here and work, so he joined in.”
“It’s always good to have someone that’s just as hungry as you, who wants to get better and doesn’t just want to go home and chill.”
Underwood echoed Pilares’ sentiments, speaking highly of his two teammates who are in line for the start this week against the Redblacks.
“They’re just professionals, they’re very resilient, no matter if they’re a backup or a starter, their mindset and their work ethic never changes,” said Underwood.
When asked what to expect of Harris and Masoli on the field this weekend, Underwood spoke to the quarterbacks’ mindset.
“They’re both very poised and very confident, they put in the work every day,” explained the sixth-year pro. “Now that they’re in a position to start, they have the right to be confident because they’ve put the work in the entire year.”
