Kevin Glenn is closing in on a Riders legend

VANCOUVER — Kevin Glenn has been given a sign that he’s closing in on a legend.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback needs just 109 yards passing to move into sixth place on the CFL’s all-time list. Glenn could reach that mark Saturday, when Saskatchewan is to face the B.C. Lions at BC Place.

The man who currently holds No. 6 on the career list is Roughriders legend Ron Lancaster, whose No. 23 is one of eight numbers that have been retired by the Roughriders.

Lancaster’s name and number appears — along with the other retired numbers and the names of the players who wore them — on a banner affixed to the east-side stands of Mosaic Stadium.

As a result, Glenn is well aware that he’s on the verge of passing Roughriders royalty.

“The other day, I walked out onto the field and I looked up and I could see his name in Mosaic Stadium,” Glenn said Friday at BC Place, the site of Saturday’s game (5 p.m., TSN, CKRM). “To say that you passed a guy like that, it says a lot.

“It’s one of those things that, after I’m done playing, will probably hit me a little more. I’ll be able to boast a little bit more about it. But right now, I’m concerned about wins.”

Glenn became just the seventh quarterback in CFL history to exceed 50,000 passing yards during Saskatchewan’s game against the Calgary Stampeders on July 22. The 38-year-old product of Detroit goes into Saturday’s game with 50,427 career yards over his 17-year CFL career.

Lancaster passed for 50,535 yards over his 19-year playing career with the Roughriders and Ottawa Rough Riders.

“As a coach, you have to keep everything in perspective,” Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones said when asked about Glenn possibly moving past Lancaster. “But out of respect for Ronnie and what he did in the league and what he does mean to the Roughrider organization, it’s a great honour if and when that does happen.”

Glenn has tried to downplay the pending accomplishment, but he admitted Friday he “could scream right now” to show how excited he is about moving into sixth place all-time.

“As professional athletes, sometimes we talk more about (individual goals) after we’re done because we’re in such a team sport atmosphere,” he said. “You never want to try to put yourself above the team. At the same time, it’s a big accomplishment. You can’t hide it and you can’t shy away from it when you’re getting this close.

“I’m ecstatic about being able to pass that mark, but at the same time, I’m just ready to get a win. If you win, those kinds of things happen. If I focus more on winning and putting my team in a good position to succeed, then all that other stuff will fall into place.”

Jarious Jackson also has seen a sign that Glenn is closing in on a major career milestone, but the one Jackson saw is on the Trans-Canada Highway near Belle Plaine.

That highway sign claims it is located the same number of yards away from historic Mosaic Stadium that Lancaster passed for with the Roughriders. Jackson isn’t sure how many miles the sign is from Regina, but he knows it represents a significant amount of work on the football field.

“You can put a landmark to it: ‘OK, from here to the stadium — wow, that’s a lot of passes,’ ’’ said Jackson, the Roughriders’ quarterbacks coach. “For Kevin to be able to get to 50,000 yards, my God.

“I’m extremely happy to have him here. After Darian (Durant) left, I felt like if we could somehow find a guy like the Ricky Ray type or the Kevin Glenn type — a guy who would fit our system, who can get the ball out of his hands quickly — then I figured we’d have a chance, especially with all the playmakers we have.”

The Roughriders traded Durant to the Montreal Alouettes on Jan. 13 after the sides failed to agree on a new contract. On Jan. 23, Saskatchewan signed Glenn as a free agent and handed him the keys to the offence.

All he has done is get off to the best start to his career. He enters Saturday’s game with 1,598 passing yards and 11 touchdowns in five games, surpassing the two previous best starts of his career.

In 2007, when he was a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Glenn had 1,555 yards and seven touchdowns after five games. As a member of the 2010 Hamilton Tiger-Cats, he threw for 1,519 yards and eight TDs in his first five games.

He has passed for more than 300 yards in three of the Roughriders’ games this season and was two yards away from that mark in a fourth contest. He went into the week with a completion percentage of 70.8, the third-best such number among quarterbacks with more than 125 attempts this season.

“He’s doing as expected,” Jackson said. “He’s a guy who figured out early in his career how to have longevity. He knows how to get the football out of his hands, he understands concepts, and he understands his strengths and his weaknesses. That’s what has given him the ability to play as long as he has.

“My hat goes off to him. You look at (former Als quarterback Anthony) Calvillo and Ricky Ray and guys like that. I played the game for about 13 years and it doesn’t compare to how long those guys played or are playing right now — and I’m sure I probably feel worse than they do.”