‘Mason is a warrior:’ Roughriders confident in new starter Fine

Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Tevin Jones had quite a compliment for the CFL team’s new starting quarterback.

“Mason is a warrior,” Jones said of Mason Fine after Saturday’s 33-31 loss to the Calgary Stampeders. “Mason does a good job of stepping in and coming up and doing his job.

“He comes in and fills big shoes all the time and he just goes and (tries to) be great every chance he gets.”

Fine certainly has big shoes to fill this time. He’s set to start in place of Trevor Harris, who suffered a tibial plateau fracture in his right knee in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s loss.

The 26-year-old Fine is to make his first start of 2023 on Saturday in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions.

Harris was injured as he tried to run for a first down with the Riders trailing 20-17. As the 37-year-old pivot was getting tackled, his right leg got rolled on. He immediately grabbed his knee in pain and subsequently was carted off the field.

The Roughriders said in a statement Sunday that Harris will undergo surgery in Regina but didn’t rule out a return at some point this season.

In the meantime, Fine will get the call.

“He’s a veteran, he has played before (and) he has experience playing the game,” tailback Jamal Morrow said. “For me, I know when Mason comes in, I feel completely confident in his ability to go and move the ball down the field.”

Fine, who’s in his third season with the Roughriders, started two games at the end of the 2022 season after then-starter Cody Fajardo was benched. Since arriving in Saskatchewan, Fine has impressed his teammates and coaches during his playing time and in practices.

“He’s always locked in,” Morrow said. “He’s always up here early, he’s working out after practice (and) he’s physically ready. He’s waiting for his opportunity.”

“It’s the way he carries himself,” Jones added. “It doesn’t matter if he’s first string, second string or third string, he’s going to go out and he’s going to do what he does. If he’s on the field, he’s going to give you all he has every single time – and that’s what I love about him.”

Like his players, Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson is confident the offence will be fine under Fine.

“He’s very committed to the offence, he knows the offence like the back of his hand, he’s got a kind of a moxie to him that I really like, and he’s got really good rapport with the offence in general,” Dickenson said. “I think he’ll be able to step in and win us some games.”

He almost pulled one out Saturday.

After coming on in relief, Fine completed six of eight pass attempts for 116 yards, with a six-yard touchdown pass to Morrow and a 69-yard pass-and-run TD toss to Jones on a Hail Mary that gave Saskatchewan the lead with 36 seconds left in regulation.

The Stampeders responded with a 50-yard, game-winning field goal from Rene Paredes on the game’s final play to snatch away the victory.

Fine admitted after the game that he thought first about Harris and his family following the starter’s injury, but Fine’s thoughts quickly turned to the job at hand.

“You understand the situation of your franchise quarterback going down, but you’ve been training all your life to be a football player,” he said. “I’ve been up (in the CFL), this is my third year now, and it sucks what happened, but I’ve got teammates relying on me to come in there and execute the offence to the best of my ability.

“That’s my full mindset going into this week and the future.”

It’s unknown how long Harris will be out, but Fine is ready to lead the offence for as long as required. He doesn’t believe the fate of the Roughriders this season falls solely on him, but he shares the responsibility with his teammates and coaches as well.

“I can’t put that pressure on me; that’s not fair to myself,” he said. “But I do have to put the pressure on doing my job to the best of my ability and control what I can control.”

Harris released a statement on social media Monday, thanking those who reached out to him after the injury and vowing to battle through the recovery.

“I’ve cried a lot.. not (because) of pain or fear. More because I’m sad that this game is being taken away from me for now,” Harris wrote. “But I’m good.. my spirit is great, I will heal up and grind through this like never before.”