'I've had this game circled for a while:' Kinne excited for first game action with Riders

He’s had it circled on his calendar for weeks now, and on Saturday the day will finally arrive.

G.J. Kinne will get his chance to play behind centre for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Kinne signed with the Riders in June 2016 and this will the first time he’ll see game action since arriving. He’s looking forward to the opportunity.

“I’ve had this game circled for a while. I’m going to be out there and give it my best and my family’s going to be able to make the trip out to Vancouver so it’s going to be good,” Kinne said adding head coach Chris Jones told him a few weeks back he would see time Saturday.

Kinne spent the better part of the last four seasons on practice rosters with the Jets, Eagles and Giants. He also spent time in a couple different positions including as a receiver and at safety.

“So this whole year I’m just trying to get back to my fundamentals, my technique and getting everything down,” Kinne said.

When asked how he was able to adjust to so many different positions, Kinne said it was just hard work. In his conversion to a receiver Kinne dropped 20 lbs in just a few months. In his conversion to a safety he learned a whole new side of the ball, but he said his success in doing so all came back to knowing the quarterback position as well as he did.

Now he’s thrilled to be going back to it.

“I’ve learned as much as I can. (Darian) Durant is obviously a tremendous player … so anything he tells me or I see him do I try to soak up as much as possible.”

Quarterback Brandon Bridge, who is also likely to see reps behind centre on Saturday said there is no animosity between the quarterbacks on the team, even though they are all looking to prove something to their coaches.

“We’re all pretty right, one only plays but all of our minds are on (the field) at the same time,” he said.

Bridge came to Saskatchewan in August after being cut by Montreal earlier in the season. Bridge said one of the reasons he picked the Roughriders is because they didn’t want to convert him to a different position and because Jones had designed a package for him to get on the field right away.

However, Bridge is excited for the chance to run more of the offence.

“There are not too many Canadian quarterbacks. I really got to kind of just show that I can do everything they want me to do.”

Kinne and Bridge are listed second and third respectively behind Mitchell Gale, who is also expected to see reps at quarterback.

Darian Durant is on the one game injured list and will not play on Saturday.