Trevor Harris turned the page on the Saskatchewan Roughriders\u2019 2025 Grey Cup win a mere 48 hours after he was among the first to receive the trophy.<\/p>\n
Now he has turned another page \u2014\u00a0on the calendar.<\/p>\n
With the arrival of April, Coors Light Riders Training Camp is now a next-month proposition for the reigning CFL champions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is April Fools\u2019 Day,\u201d Harris, 39, said on Wednesday during an online media conference. \u201cI guess I could have gone on here and said, \u2018Guys, I\u2019m announcing my retirement today,\u2019 but I missed on that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got an excited group. We\u2019ve got an excited team. We\u2019re counting down the days (until camp). It\u2019s almost like when you were a kid and you had the rings. You were tearing off a ring every day to get ready for vacation or Christmas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gets to that point where you\u2019re like, \u2018OK, the off-season has been long enough. Let\u2019s go play some ball.\u2019 You start itching. You start getting some great feelings heading into the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t be more excited to know that we\u2019re less than a month away from getting into Regina and being there a few days early to get acclimated and get comfortable before we start training camp, which is just an exciting time of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris is also hoping to add a ring \u2014\u00a0the third championship ring of his career. He was previously a Grey Cup champion as a member of the Toronto Argonauts (in 2012) and Ottawa REDBLACKS (2016).<\/p>\n
Most recently, Harris earned Grey Cup MVP honours after completing 23 of 27 passes for 302 yards in a 25-17 victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Nov. 16 in Winnipeg. He established a Grey Cup single-game record for completion percentage (85.2).<\/p>\n
That was on a Sunday. By the following Tuesday, he was back in the Roughriders\u2019 gym at Mosaic Stadium, working out.<\/p>\n
Although he has allowed himself time to savour the Roughriders\u2019 fifth championship season, the priority has been to play a primary role in contributing to a sixth.<\/p>\n
Accordingly, he immersed himself in meetings during a recent visit to Saskatchewan before heading to Toronto and a series of league-related media and promotional appearances on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve learned quite a bit that there is still some meat on the bone for me to ascend mentally,\u201d Harris said as his 14th CFL season approaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve said this a few times, but I feel like as soon as we stop ascending mentally, we officially become a declining asset, so I\u2019m definitely not done ascending mentally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like we\u2019re able to take it to another level this year and that we can ascend higher.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris will soon fly back to Saskatchewan from his off-season home in Ohio and get a headstart on formal workouts that are to be held at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon for most of May.<\/p>\n
Rookie camp is scheduled for May 6, 7 and 8. Harris and the other quarterbacks \u2014\u00a0Jack Coan, Tommy Stevens, Brayden Schager and Jordan McCloud \u2014\u00a0are to participate in those sessions to facilitate offensive drills and limber up their throwing arms.<\/p>\n
Main camp commences on May 10. For a change, the team will be based in Saskatoon for the entirety of camp, which will conclude with a May 23 CFL matchup with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.<\/p>\n
The first Saskatoon-based pre-season game since 1991 is to be played at Griffiths Stadium, on the University of Saskatchewan campus.<\/p>\n