Tommy Stevens and the Saskatchewan Roughriders are looking to turn the page on a disappointing loss against the B.C. Lions and take out that frustration on the Calgary Stampeders.
“I feel like everybody in our group, everybody in every room, we’re all pulling the rope in the same direction,” Stevens said. “We just had to recalibrate and eventually move on because there’s no getting it back.
“We’ve got to control the things that we can control. We did a good job of that this week.”
Stevens, a fan favourite and Saskatchewan’s short-yardage quarterback, is looking to do what he does best against the Stamps. He’s second in the CFL with 15 touchdowns but hasn’t found the end zone in either of his last two games.
A win over the Stamps – Stevens’ former team – clinches a playoff berth for the Riders. A big touchdown in front of the home crowd would undoubtedly raise the noise level.
“I love playing here,” Stevens said. “It’s awesome playing here in front of these fans. We feed off their energy, especially when this place is rocking like it has been this year. I’m excited to see if they can exceed expectations as well. We’re going to need them.”
We at SportsCage.com needed you, too, since Stevens was the subject of our latest reader-driven Q&A. We got some great questions from people who submitted them through the Riders All Access Report.
Those who had their queries chosen below will all be entered into a draw to win Riders tickets.
Here’s Stevens responding to your questions from Voice of the Roughriders Dave Thomas. Editor’s note: some questions were edited for length, clarity, or context.
From Thomas W. Paterson: You’ve made excellent contributions to the Riders. In comparison to other experiences professionally, how does the organization and Riders team stack up?
That’s a great question and a great name. Thomas; that’s fantastic.
This is only my second organization I’ve been in in this league. I don’t want to make this about the other place or create bulletin-board material by any means, but it’s much different here. I wouldn’t say that probably for most of the other teams in this league. This place is special.
It’s really about the people. I had a sense of that when I showed up as a visitor, and I was playing against the Riders. It was always a place that I enjoyed playing. Having them feel like, I feel like, our team, it’s a lot more fun that way. There’s not a lot of teams that have that around the league. It’s absolutely an advantage to have. The people truly care.
This place has reminded me the most of Penn State since I’ve left. I had a blast there and people were very, very passionate – almost cult-like. It’s about loving football. I’m not sure that all the other teams in this league have exactly that. This place is very special to me. I’ve said this before, but I hope I’m here for the rest of my career.
From Grandma Joan: Are you happy with your role with the Saskatchewan Roughriders or would you like to be a starting QB? We love you in your role!
(Laughs.) I’ve been playing the quarterback position since high school. I have a very limited amount of reps there. It was something that I always wanted to continue to work to.
I’ve always seen myself as an every-down quarterback eventually. It’s something that I’ll continue to work on in my time here. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. It’s something that I would like to happen for sure.
Having a role for a pro football team in a place like this, for as special as this place is, I’m just happy to be a football player. I’m happy to be on this team. I’m happy to have a role on a very successful football team.
From Thomas W. Paterson: We’ve seen you in short yardage. How else do you contribute to the team?
That’s probably the main role. I’ve always had a natural feel for being able to connect with people. I feel like I’ve always been able to have conversations with a lot of different people from a lot of different backgrounds.
I credit my mom for that. She was a home health-care nurse for most of my life and went into a lot of different environments to help care for patients. She’s always had great communication skills. I went to school and got my master’s degree in communications. I would say one of my best abilities is being able to connect with a lot of different teammates.
When you’re able to have guys that truly care about each other, it makes for a special group. I feel like we have that here.
From DFletch: When you come out for a play and Trevor Harris stays on the field as a blocker, have having you ever thought about throwing him the ball just once rather than running it?
I’ll tell you this, I would love to throw Trevor his first receiving touchdown. You don’t get many firsts with Trevor Harris. He’s done just about everything you can in this game. That’s one of the first things I asked him when we started doing these things was if he’d ever had a receiving touchdown.
The plan, actually, was to throw him one when we played against Winnipeg – the one where I dove for the pylon – but he was covered. I had to improvise on that one. I would love to. It’s hopefully something that maybe we can work into the future.
https://x.com/TSN_Sports/status/2096775212586893630
From Laureen Marchuk: Where would you say the calibre of play in the CFL is at?
As an American guy that didn’t know a ton about the CFL when I first got here, I was blown away by how competitive, by the overall skill level. I just didn’t know. You don’t know a ton about the game if you don’t watch it. I didn’t know a bunch about the CFL. Once I got up here, once I started learning about the game, I really realized how good some of the players are here. This is the most competitive I’ve seen the league since I’ve been here.
I spent a very brief amount of time in the NFL. I don’t want to sit here and act like we’ve got Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey, and Saquon Barkley. Those guys are aliens, one of ones. But for the most part, the guys that are maybe fighting for roster spots in the NFL are special teams guys. That’s a lot of the same guys we have here in the CFL. It’s a lot closer than most people would be willing to give it credit for. I was one of those people, too. I just didn’t know. I didn’t watch the game. It’s very, very competitive.
I think, by a wide margin, it’s the next-best league. I love it. I love playing here. It’s given me an opportunity to continue playing the game that I love. Whenever I explain the Canadian game to my friends and family back home, I just try to explain to it them as if it’s a different game.
It’s been a lot of fun here. Not that the CFL needs Americans to watch. But the more that football is broadcast to Americans, they are going to watch because they love football. So do I. I would have loved to have watched the CFL when I was little.
