Trevor Harris has full confidence in his receiving corps despite the long-term absences of main targets Kian Schaffer-Baker and Sam Emilus.
“There’s no flinching,” he said. “We’ve got good players. I’m not worried one bit.”
The Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback has been preparing with a revamped group ahead of Friday’s tilt against the winless Ottawa Redblacks after Schaffer-Baker and Emilus were added to the six-game injured list this week.
Schaffer-Baker injured his knee in last Saturday’s 28-26 win at Edmonton. Emilus missed the contest with a foot ailment that was thought to be a short-term problem but has been deemed more serious upon re-evaluation.
Harris still has fellow big-three pass catcher KeeSean Johnson at his disposal, but the rest of the unit looks like a bit of a motley crew.
There’s Dylan Djete, the 2026 draft pick who made his CFL debut last week after starting the season on the six-game injured list. There’s Johnny Johnson III, Dhel Duncan-Busby, Daniel Wiebe, and D’Sean Mimbs – players who are about to be elevated from more depth roles.
There’s even Nick Wiebe, a linebacker who was getting reps on offence in practice this week and could get some touches in against Ottawa. His offensive experience is limited to some time at receiver in high school and catching a 20-yard pass for the Saskatchewan Huskies against the Regina Rams in a university game.
“I can make it shake at receiver a little bit,” he said. “I’m going to try my best this week. My dad used to throw me passes growing up in the backyard. I’m well versed in catching the football.”
Harris is missing two of his top three receivers, and some of their replacements are a raw rookie and a linebacker. The drop-off seems precipitous.
But the quarterback believes he can tailor the playbook to their skills to help them succeed.
“As a quarterback, that’s something I always try to pride myself on is watching the guy, what are they good at, how can I highlight their strengths, and (offensive coordinator Marc) Mueller does the same thing,” Harris said. “We’ve got to put these guys in situations and positions to make plays.
“Opportunity gives windows for guys to flourish. I think that’s exactly what you’re going to see.”
On paper, it doesn’t hurt that the Riders are playing an 0-7 opponent as they display their new charges on offence. However, the Redblacks have a new defensive coordinator in veteran CFL coach Jeff Reinebold as of last week, so the Riders are cognizant of possible changes to their schemes.
“We’re digging deep in the archives, doing everything we can to try and figure and get an inkling or clue,” Harris said. “They cool thing is, (Friday) we’ll know.
“We’re very, very good at making adjustments. We’ve got some things that we’re going to try to do that we feel like can be different than what they’ve seen. We feel like we can always execute.”
Roughriders coach Corey Mace is excited to see what the new offence can bring, and which receivers take advantage of their increased roles.
“We know that injuries are going to happen. To not have people prepared would be a misstep,” Mace said. “Truthfully, in these situations, you get excited for these guys that have the opportunities that they’ve been waiting for. We’ll see what that looks like, but we know what we expect it to look like.”
They’ll be no easing in for anyone, Harris said. The Roughriders expect to be all systems go right from the first possession of Friday’s game.
“Us just executing from play one to the end and having a killer instinct and not just stepping on the pedal but putting a brick on that thing and leave it down is what our mindset needs to be as an offence,” Harris said.
