{"id":158433,"date":"2025-09-21T03:52:21","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T03:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/158433\/"},"modified":"2025-09-21T03:52:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T03:52:21","slug":"hogan-doege-ready-for-the-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/158433\/","title":{"rendered":"Hogan: Doege Ready for the Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Injuries to starting quarterbacks never come at a good time, but there are worse times than others.<\/p>\n

Last week the Argos lost Nick Arbuckle late in the fourth quarter in a close, must-win game against Edmonton. A calf injury meant that Jarret Doege (pronounced DAY-ghee) would take the reins, but there was a slight problem.<\/p>\n

It was Week 15 and Doege had only taken one snap, a QB sneak that he turned into a one-yard touchdown. He hadn\u2019t thrown a pass in a game this year and had thrown just three last season.<\/p>\n

The Lubbock, Texas native found himself in a tough situation. On the last drive, his second, there was only 1:08 on the clock and the Argos took over on their own 29-yard line, needing roughly 35 yards to give Lirim Hajrullahu a comfortable field goal attempt.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d get forty.<\/p>\n

Among the plays on the drive, a perfect pass from Doege to Makai Polk on the sideline, a third-and-four beauty that he dropped over a defender with about an inch to spare. Two plays later he hit Dejon Brissett for 22 yards, dropping a pass over a linebacker to hit his receiver in an open spot in zone coverage.<\/p>\n

The two passes were perfect throws, not easily done \u2013 particularly in a high-pressure situation \u2013 considering Doege\u2019s lack of playing time this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s tough,\u201d the QB admitted to Argonauts.ca. \u201cYou just fall back on your training and that\u2019s what I do every day, get throws after practice and walk through my plays and prepare like I\u2019m the starter, so when I get in the game, the moment\u2019s not too big for me and I can go execute.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Hajrullahu\u2019s game winner, Doege\u2019s emotions got the better of him. He ran toward the Edmonton bench, using his middle and index fingers to simulate scissors, reminding the Elks they had cut the QB that had just beaten them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat one meant a little more to me,\u201d he confessed. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just the fact that I got cut from Edmonton, it was just the timing of it and how it happened. It just felt good to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t expect to see that kind of celebration in the future, but don\u2019t expect to see a robotic player behind centre either.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to play with emotion,\u201d said the QB. \u201cI think you\u2019ve got to play the game with emotion. At the same time, I try to be even keeled, just being that quarterback; not getting too high, not getting too low. Just in that moment I got emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time Doege\u2019s been emotional this season, but it was a completely different feeling from what he was experiencing in mid-May. He was released by the Elks on May 5 and spent three weeks in limbo before signing with the Argos.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough,\u201d Doege confessed. \u201cI was at home thinking my football career is over. I was going to give it a month to see if anyone called, but at the time I was calling all the college coaches I know in the States to see if they\u2019ve got openings for GA (graduate assistant coaching) jobs. I was just grateful to get a call from Toronto.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two weeks into training camp, Argo head coach Ryan Dinwiddie was eager to get an experienced quarterback to back up Arbuckle. They liked Tucker Horn, but he was a raw rookie, and Cameron Dukes hadn\u2019t made the expected next step, so Dinwiddie\u2019s prayer for a QB with CFL experience was answered by Doege.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought he could create plays,\u201d Dinwiddie told Argonauts.ca. \u201cI thought when he came into camp he was making plays off script, he had the one scramble (a 15-yarder in a pre-season game against Hamilton), an element we were lacking in terms of athleticism. I liked his film when he was in Edmonton, so he was always on my radar. Once we got him in there and had him operating our offence, the way he did it in under four days was pretty impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Doege\u2019s football journey hasn\u2019t been an easy one. He played well at Bowling Green, where as a freshman he was teammates with Argo offensive lineman Ryan Hunter. He led the MAC in passing yards and touchdown passes in 2018 before transferring to West Virginia. With the Mountaineers in 2021 he finished second in the Big-12 in passing yards.<\/p>\n

After a season at Troy he headed north, signing with Edmonton in 2023. He played well at times, including in his CFL debut where he threw a pair of TD passes against the Argos. But he\u2019d find himself third on the depth chart behind Tre Ford and Taylor Cornelius, then Ford and McLeod Bethel-Thompson last year, and Ford and Cody Fajardo before his release this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been difficult,\u201d he admitted, \u201cjust because I got thrown into the fire a little bit as a rookie. If felt like I was ready at the time, but you look back and I was nowhere near where I am now. I\u2019m a lot more confident and I know the CFL game a lot better. Then, getting cut the way I did, just sitting at home, I\u2019m grateful to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Argos are grateful to have him.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a bizarre season in the Argonauts quarterback room. If you said at the beginning of training camp that Chad Kelly would still be out of the lineup in late September, that Nick Arbuckle would be talked about as a CFL MOP candidate, and that Jarret Doege would be starting in an enormous game against Montreal this week, you\u2019d be the only one.<\/p>\n

But Doege is ready to go on Friday night.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge game to keep our playoff hopes alive,\u201d said Doege. \u201cIt being Montreal makes it an even bigger game because they\u2019ve very, very talented on defence. I\u2019m just trying to not make the game bigger than it needs to be, just go out and do my job and execute the plays that are called.\u201d<\/p>\n

A big game featuring Jarret Doege for the Argos and former Argo McLeod Bethel-Thompson \u2013 who Doege backed up last season \u2013 for the Alouettes. Just another plot twist in a season already filled with drama.<\/p>\n

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