Trevor Harris, who moonlights as a weather specialist, is well aware that a front is approaching from eastern Canada.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats defensive linemen will be attempting to get their hands on Harris when he starts at quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday in a collision of the CFL’s division leaders (1 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
Following a bye week, the 7-1 Roughriders returned to the practice field on Tuesday. The final day of the respite included another appearance by Harris on CTV Morning Live Saskatchewan.
He was joined in the CTV Regina studio by two of his sons (T.J. and Trace) and morning-show host Darrell Romuld. Following an interview, the Harris trio handled the weathercast in fine style.
“Maybe it’s something (T.J. and Trace) can do in the future as a job instead of getting beat up in football,” a proud father noted.
For the record: A promising game-day forecast didn’t even include a Trace of precipitation.
It was the second appearance in front of the weather map for Harris, who debuted as CTV’s guest meteorologist last October.
“I didn’t skip a beat, I guess, but I had a couple of things,” he said. “I repeated some words. I watched back and was like, ‘Man, that’s just not good enough. I’ve got to be better.’
“But, no, it was fun. It’s tons of fun to be able to live a dream. That I get to be quarterback of this franchise, it’s something that I pinch myself every day about and never take for granted.
“But getting to have my kids come on there and be on TV, it’s just like, ‘Man … what a life. I’m very thankful. God’s good.’ ”
When Harris next makes a TV appearance of note, it will be on Saturday as part of a TSN telecast.
Roughriders versus Tiger-Cats is already being touted by the league’s media rights-holder as a potential Grey Cup preview.
“I’m not sure if we’re thinking about that,” Harris said. “To me, it’s just about us becoming the team we want to be.
“We’re 7-1, but that really doesn’t matter at this point. It’s about ‘who are we today as a team?’ and ‘who are we tomorrow as a team?’ and ‘who are we going to be Saturday as a team?’ Are we trending in the right direction?
“If the results go well, great. If not, it’s still the same exact goal of focusing on where we need to be as a team.”
When asked to take the temperature of the team early in the week, Harris offered a response that stopped short of awarding top grades.
“It’s a work in progress,” he said. “Definitely, it’s not in the A’s or B’s. We’re trending toward where we need to be, but we still have a way to go.
“If we want to sit here and pat ourselves on the back for being 7-1, there’s no seven-win team that’s getting in the playoffs. Nobody’s over here exhaling or letting off the accelerator. It’s full-blast go, because we’ve got boxes we want to check as a team.
“Winning seven games was not one of them. Starting 7-1 was not one of them. We want to keep the pedal to the metal and finish stronger than we start.
“We’ve had a good start so far, but we want to make sure that we’re trending in the right direction and not going stale or having played our best ball already.”
Harris feels there is ample room for improvement even though:
• Saskatchewan has a 7-1 record for only the third time in franchise history (see also: 1970, 2013).
• He has been the CFL’s top-rated quarterback, as appraised by Pro Football Focus, in three of the Roughriders’ past four games.
• His quarterback efficiency rating (119.7) is the league’s best by a comfortable margin.
• Saskatchewan is coming off a 34-6 road victory over the Montreal Alouettes, who played host to the Green and White on Aug. 2.
“I still feel like I didn’t play very well against Montreal,” Harris said. “I wanted a couple of plays back. Shoot, I think every game you play as a quarterback, you’re never going to come away and think you did perfectly.
“We just want to make sure we’re continuing to strive for greatness, because this group has more. I think there’s another level that we can unlock. We’re making our way there.”
The Tiger-Cats will soon make their way to Saskatchewan for a game that will feature two premier starting quarterbacks — Harris and Bo Levi Mitchell.
With Mitchell at the controls, the Tiger-Cats are leading the CFL in offensive points per game (28.8). The Roughriders are next at 26.9.
Harris has 17 completions of 30-plus yards — one more than Mitchell.
Mitchell leads the loop in passing yards (2,856) and aerial touchdowns (21).
Harris enters the game with at least one touchdown pass in 11 consecutive games (playoffs included). At 10.2 yards per passing attempt, he is just behind Calgary Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.’s league-leading average of 10.4.
Taking everything into account, Saturday’s game is a must-see for connoisseurs of wide-open football.
But fans who prefer defence are well-advised to stay tuned in case there is a high-pressure system.
