The Tiger-Cats starting quarterback situation remains a unresolved heading into the team’s East Semi-Final showdown with the Toronto Argonauts.
Four days after the regular season finale against the Redblacks, in which both Jacory Harris and Jeremiah Masoli saw snaps, Head Coach Kent Austin has not determined who will take the majority of snaps in the team’s first playoff game.
“We haven’t made a decision yet,” said Austin, stating Wednesday that the team is no closer to choosing a starter after the first practice of the week.
Jacory Harris got the start in last week’s contest, completing 3-of-6 passes for 41 yards on the team’s first four drives of the game. At 13:24 of the second quarter, Harris was swapped out for Masoli, who entered the game to run back-to-back designed run plays.
Masoli completed his first pass of the game– a second-down completion to Tiquan Underwood that wound up falling just short of the sticks–on a drive that resulted in the Ticats first points of the game.
From that point forward, Masoli took the remainder of the Ticats snaps at quarterback, finishing the game with 11-of-21 passing for 148 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for an additional 27 yards and another touchdown.
Hamilton rallied for 20 consecutive second-quarter points behind Masoli, and he played the majority of the Week 20 game for the Ticats, but the scale has not been tipped in his favour for the start this week.
“It depends who we feel like can run the offence the best, put the ball in the end zone and give us a chance to win,” said Coach Austin. “It’s also based on the game plan and what we’re expecting defensively from them.”
When asked if it would be easier knowing who would be the starter coming into the week’s practices, both quarterbacks shrugged off the question, simply acknowledging that they are both preparing as if they will be taking the field with the offence on Sunday.
“I am a player, I’m not a coach, I don’t make those decisions,” said Harris. “We just have to be ready, whenever our name is called that’s when we’re going to be ready.”
Mathews back at practice in limited capacity
Quarterback Jeff Mathews, who made five starts for the Ticats in 2015, was at the team’s closed practice on Wednesday but was not a full participant.
Mathews suffered a head injury in the team’s Week 19 home game against the Redblacks, exiting the game following a hit by defensive back David Hinds.
“He [Mathews] attended practice, I wouldn’t say he participated a whole lot,” said Coach Austin. When asked if the rookie quarterback was a possibility for Sunday, Austin admitted that while he has been doing much better, he would be an extreme long-shot to see the field this week.
Underwood sees more action in Ottawa
First-year receiver Tiquan Underwood received much more attention in last Saturday’s game, seeing five targets in the first half alone. Underwood finished the contest with just two receptions for 34 yards, with a big second-half reception taken off the board on an offensive pass interference penalty.
It’s not surprising that Underwood has seen more attention from both Masoli and Harris; the International receiver has spent much of the season going over routes with both quarterbacks after practice. With one of the two starting again this week, look for Underwood to have an expanded role for the second straight week.
