Harker to start as Riders opt to rest Fajardo, other starters

With the Saskatchewan Roughriders resting a number of starters, Isaac Harker will be the CFL team’s starting quarterback on Saturday against the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

“(It has been a) long time coming, especially because I spent a lot of long hours during quarantine when you weren’t sure if you were ever going to get a season again and all that,” Harker said after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s special to get a chance to play again and we’ve been working so long for it.

“Anytime you can get live reps is definitely a help and especially if you’ve been coached well in the past, if you make a mistake you won’t make it again.”

Head coach Craig Dickenson said quarterback Cody Fajardo, centre Dan Clark, slotback Duke Williams and defensive tackle Micah Johnson will not be playing Saturday. Kickoff for the game is set for 3 p.m.

There were concerns over the health of Williams after he appeared to injure his left knee in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 29-24 win over the Edmonton Elks. Williams re-entered and finished the game.

“We think he’s all right but he’s a little sore so we’re not going to push it with him. We want to make sure he gets his practices in this week so he gets his conditioning in but we’re not interested in playing him,” Dickenson said. “We will rest Duke for the playoff game.”

Saskatchewan is to play host to the Calgary Stampeders in the West Division semifinal on Nov. 28.

Safety Loucheiz Purifoy (ankle), linebacker Micah Teitz (quad) and offensive tackle Brett Boyko (calf) all missed practice Tuesday and their status for Saturday’s game may also be in doubt.

With Clark out, Logan Ferland moved to centre Tuesday, while Josiah St. John and Evan Johnson handled guard duties with Andrew Lauderdale and Cam Jefferson were at the tackle spots.

Dickenson also said running back William Powell won’t play — or will be very limited in snaps — so running back Jamal Morrow will start. Rashard Davis is expected to join the roster with Williams out, but Justin McInnis is set to start at slotback.

It would be the second start for Harker in his two-season CFL career. The 26-year-old was the starter against Edmonton on Nov. 2, 2019, due to an injury to Fajardo. Harker completed 23 of 28 passes for 213 yards in a 23-13 victory as Saskatchewan clinched first place in the West Division.

But with that game being more than two years ago, Harker said he can’t rely too much on that experience this weekend.

“I think I’m more going to be leaning on the quarantine work I’ve put in because a lot of these plays I’ve visualized hundreds of times on every hash and so I know what it feels like to succeed,” Harker said.

Dickenson said the plan is to let Harker take a majority of the snaps in the game.

Harker’s first practice as the starter in 2021 came in less-than-ideal weather conditions with Regina under a blizzard warning and snow being blown around by high winds during practice.

But being from Indiana and playing football at the Colorado School of Mines, Harker didn’t mind it.

“The weather we had today will be a shock no matter how long I’ve been up here. That was crazy,” Harker said. “That just reminded me of being a little kid where it’s snowstorming and you go outside and you’re all snow-suited up and you play tackle football with your friends. It was fun today.”

Notes: Williams was named a CFL top performer after catching eight passes for 146 yards and a touchdown in the win over Edmonton.