Trevor Harris put the “fence” in “offence.”
Following Saturday’s smoke-shortened Saskatchewan Roughriders intrasquad game at the Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the veteran CFL quarterback made a beeline for the stands and greeted the public.
“We’re glad you’re one of us now,” one fan said over the fence to an appreciative Harris, who signed with the Roughriders as a free agent on Feb. 14.
So began a succession of welcome-to-Saskatchewan moments for the new face of the franchise, who clearly enjoyed every interaction.
One young signature-seeker, for example, voiced his aspiration of becoming a quarterback.
At that point, it wasn’t a time for selfies or an autograph. Instead, Harris dispensed advice in his thoughtful manner.
“Make sure you start throwing with a smaller ball,” he said. “And work on your accuracy. That’s the main thing.”
That was certainly the case for Harris during the Green and White Game, which consisted of only 10 offensive plays and two placement kicks before the concentration of smoke was such that the game had to be called as a precaution.
Making his first appearance as a Roughrider in a non-practice situation, a razor-sharp Harris completed six of seven passes for 115 yards. His favourite target, Derel Walker, caught three passes for 75 yards.
Walker made a spectacular catch in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard score that proved to be the scrimmage’s penultimate play — the punctuation mark being a convert by Saskatoon-born David Solie.
Shortly thereafter, Head Coach Craig Dickenson signalled to the players and spoke to them as a group.
Public-address announcer Michael Ball — CKRM’s voice of the Roughriders — informed the crowd that the Green and White Game had concluded.
But the day was hardly lost, as fans were invited to line up by the east fence and meet the players.
Some of them were hardly strangers, such as guard Evan Johnson — formerly of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
While the always-affable Johnson signed autographs, his son Maverick enjoyed running around on the field.
Many of the older kids flocked toward Harris, whose personality proved to be as magnetic as his presence.
“Have fun today?” he asked one fan. “Sorry you didn’t get to watch the guys play anymore.”
“Hi, how are you?” Harris told another youthful admirer a few seconds later. “I like your sunglasses. I’ve got to get me a pair of those.”
For the time being, Harris has a pair of children. His wife, Kalie, is expecting another baby within a week.
“When you have another baby, please make it a girl, because I have four brothers,” one female fan advised Harris.
The Roughriders’ passer was soon approached by an older couple. Harris was soon standing beside a gentleman and looked at an iPhone camera.
“I want to get a picture,” the fan’s wife informed Harris, “because normally you’re with a young person.”
The interactions never got old for Harris.
Autograph. Autograph. Autograph. Selfie. Autograph. Selfie. Autograph. Et cetera.
Harris cordially worked his way down the line, doing his utmost to be accommodating despite the voracious appetite for a few seconds of his time.
Toward the end, when it was time to board a bus that was bound for the players’ residence at the U of S, watching Harris handle the public was somewhat reminiscent of his command of the hurry-up offence.
Autograph. Autograph. Selfie. Autograph.
(Takes a few steps.)
Selfie. Autograph. Autograph. Selfie.
(A few more steps.)
Selfie. Handshake. Selfie. Selfie.
(Four more yards. Second-and-six.)
Fist bump. Fist bump. Fist bump …
The next week will likely move at a comparably hectic pace for Harris, who is expected to fly home to Ohio on Wednesday to be present for the expansion of the family, which is already blessed with six-year-old T.J. and his three-year-old brother, Trace.
Harris could return as early as Saturday, when the Roughriders are to open their pre-season schedule against the B.C. Lions (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
Even if Harris is back in time for the opening kickoff, he will watch from the sideline as Mason Fine, Jake Dolegala and Shea Patterson battle it out for the No. 2 quarterbacking job.
Although Harris has approached training camp with the mindset that he has to earn the No. 1 job, the coaches’ minds are made up.
“Trevor is as good as we thought he would be, maybe even better,” Dickenson said before Saturday’s shortened scrimmage. “He has been something else.”
That sentiment was reinforced, many times over, as Trevor Harris worked his way down the line late on a smoky Saturday afternoon.
