Ordinarily, Bo Levi Mitchell would do his utmost to avoid throwing a pass to an established defensive player.
A ground-breaking exception was made on Oct. 26, 2012, when Mitchell registered his first CFL touchdown pass.
The recipient was defensive tackle Corey Mace, who conventionally moved over to offence when the Calgary Stampeders required more bulk for the short-yardage team — one that also included Mitchell, then a 22-year-old rookie.
Calgary, which started Kevin Glenn at quarterback and led the visiting B.C. Lions 24-0 after 15 minutes, got on the board again in the second quarter when Mitchell found Mace for a one-yard major. After going up 31-0, the Stampeders cruised to a 41-21 victory.
Mitchell and Mace are to cross paths again on Sunday, when the Roughriders meet the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Tim Hortons Field.
A priority for Mace, who is now the Roughriders’ Head Coach and Defensive Co-ordinator, will be to shut down a Mitchell-led Hamilton offence.
“He’s a walking Hall of Famer,” Mace said on Wednesday. “I think we all know that.
“He has been around some brilliant minds and he is one himself. There’s not a ton that you’re going to throw at him that he hasn’t seen. He can make all the throws and it’s going to be a challenge.”
The scoring strike from Mitchell was Mace’s second (and final) CFL touchdown. The icebreaker was a 60-yard fumble-return major at Saskatchewan on Oct. 17, 2010.
Fast forward nearly two years.
Considering that the one-yard major against B.C. was Mitchell’s first CFL touchdown pass and Mace’s first TD reception, who got to keep the football?
“Because I had already scored a touchdown in the league, I think we gave that one to Bo,” Mace recalled. “He deserved that one.
“But now that he has thrown so many, maybe he could give it back.”
With 195 regular-season touchdown passes, Mitchell is 14th in league history. He is three TD tosses behind Kent Austin.
Saskatchewan’s Trevor Harris is also poised to leapfrog an ex-Roughrider on the all-time list.
Harris is 21st all-time with 163 touchdown passes — one behind Darian Durant.
As well, Harris is moving up the league’s passing-yardage list. He is currently 19th with 30,189 yards and within striking distance of Tom Burgess (30,308) and Sam Etcheverry (30,381).
Durant, who is among this year’s inductees into the SaskTel Plaza of Honour, is 16th in career passing yardage (31,740). He is one spot behind Mitchell (33,872).
TURNING POINT
Bryan Cox Jr. made one of the pivotal plays on Saturday, when the Roughriders registered a season-opening, 29-21 victory over the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium.
Trailing 22-21 late in the fourth quarter, the Elks had marched to the Roughriders’ 50-yard line and were bordering on being in range for an attempt at a go-ahead field goal.
Cox Jr. proceeded to change everything with a strip-sack of Elks quarterback McLeod-Bethel Thompson. The Roughriders’ second-year defensive lineman then recovered the fumble with 1:38 remaining in the game.
Three plays after the timely turnover, Harris found Shawn Bane Jr. for a 33-yard touchdown pass.
“I was just doing my job,” Cox Jr. said. “It’s the same thing every play. I’m just trying to get to the quarterback when it’s a pass. That just happened to be my opportunity and I seized it.
“I was just happy to be able to help close it off for the team.”
Cox Jr. has forced a fumble with a sack in each of his past two games.
On Oct. 21, 2023, he jarred the ball loose from Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly at Mosaic Stadium. That was the first of two sacks on the day for Cox Jr., who played in eight games with the 2023 Roughriders.
Cox Jr. made his CFL debut with the Roughriders on June 11, 2023 in Edmonton.
That was his first regular-season appearance on a football field since Oct. 19, 2020, when he suited up for the Buffalo Bills against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cox Jr., a veteran of 26 NFL games, missed the 2021 season with an Achilles tendon injury. He had a stint with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022 before signing with Saskatchewan the following year.
On July 22 in B.C., he suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss 10 games. He returned to the lineup Oct. 13 in Calgary and registered his first two CFL sacks the following week against Toronto.
“Obviously, I missed a lot of time last year, so I feel like the fan base and everybody really didn’t get to see what I can do as a whole piece of work,” said Cox Jr., who turns 30 on June 25.
“Now it’s just a matter of coming back and proving what I can do.”
INJURY UPDATE
Defensive halfback Amari Henderson was a full participant in practice on Wednesday after missing the season opener with an Achilles injury.
Offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick (ankle), and linebacker Jameer Thurman (chest), both of whom played on Saturday, did not practise on Wednesday. Both of them are expected to be in the lineup at Tim Hortons Field on Sunday.
Defensive back Rodney Clemons (Achilles) did not practise. Defensive lineman Nicholas Dheilly (who missed Saturday’s game due to illness) and tight end Bruno LaBelle (leg) were full participants in Wednesday’s workout.
