TORONTO — Zach Collaros is back where it all began.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ quarterback started his CFL career with the Toronto Argonauts in 2012, learning the ropes from Argos of the day like quarterback Ricky Ray, head coach Scott Milanovich and defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones.
On Saturday, Collaros’ current CFL team will face his first CFL team at BMO Field (5 p.m., CKRM, TSN). On Friday, the 30-year-old product of Steubenville, Ohio, reflected on his arrival in Toronto six seasons ago.
“I remember they flew me up about five or six days into training camp,” he recalled. “I really didn’t want to come up. I was ready to call it quits and get into something else. I remember getting off the plane and kind of having a sick feeling in my stomach, like, ‘Why did I come to do this?’ ”
The rookie out of the University of Cincinnati decided to stick around long enough to meet the coaching staff and the players. He remembered that Ray took nearly every snap in training camp while Collaros tried to figure out the CFL.
“From an understanding-of-the-game standpoint, I wasn’t able to really voice any opinion,” he said. “I just had to kind of sit back and learn. But I couldn’t have come in with a better staff — Scott and Jason Maas and Coach Jones and (Stephen) McAdoo and Orlondo Steinauer (and) Mike O’Shea. It was a really great group of minds to be around.
“The team, we had a great group. Specifically on offence, we had guys who liked each other and loved the game of football. I think that was Chad Owens’ MVP season and being around him and seeing how he approaches the work and his professionalism every day was something that I really took forward with me because the results speak for themselves. He really was just an amazing role model for a lot of the younger guys.”
Collaros dressed for four games as a CFL rookie, rushing three times for 17 yards and completing seven of 11 pass attempts for 101 yards and one touchdown in limited duty as one of Ray’s backups.
As for that “sick feeling,” well, Collaros said with a smile that it lasted that whole first season.
“That was back when they had the nine-game (injured list), so I was on the nine-game (most of the) year and I wasn’t hurt,” he said. “It was tough to just sit there and watch. I got some action finally against Hamilton that last game and I was like, ‘I can come up here next year and try it again. That was fun.’ ”
Collaros dressed for all 18 of Toronto’s games in 2013 and started eight after Ray was injured. Collaros signed as a free agent with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in January of 2014 and spent four seasons with them before being traded to Saskatchewan this past January.
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During Collaros’ time in Toronto, the Argos played their home games at Rogers Centre. Since 2016, however, the Argos have called BMO Field home — and Collaros approves of the switch.
“I like the grass field,” he said. “I’m kind of a football purist, so I miss playing on grass and all of those things.
“It’s a really cool stadium, BMO Field, and it’s good for me. I have some family (who are) able to come up from back home and my fiancee’s side as well is here. It’s a good area to be in for a game.”
The trouble is, the Argos don’t fill the 26,500-seat facility. The team’s average attendance is 14,192 for its six home games so far this season, leading many to conclude that Toronto sports fans don’t care at all about the CFL.
Collaros disagreed.
“The fans who do come to every single game are loud and love the team,” he said. “It’s like anywhere else. We’re just lucky that in Saskatchewan we have a lot more.”
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There’s a bit of a quirk to the grass field to which Collaros referred.
One end zone at BMO Field is completely covered in artificial turf, while the other end zone has a section of grass and a section of turf. That mixture has caused some problems during CFL games, prompting the league to see if there’s a way to rectify the situation.
Jones, the Roughriders’ head coach and general manager, isn’t concerned about the different playing surfaces.
“Everybody has to contend with it,” he said. “It’s kind of like when it rains; it rains on both sides of the football, too.”
The game Saturday will be the first time this season that the Roughriders will play on a field that features natural grass.
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Saskatchewan will see a couple of familiar faces Saturday.
Wide receiver Duron Carter signed with the Argos after being released by the Roughriders, while linebacker Jeff Knox Jr., joined the Boatmen following his release by the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.
“Duron’s a great player,” Jones said. “We’ve coached against him and coached with him before. He’s going to be a vital part of their offence, I’m sure, and we’re going to have our hands full covering him.”
Carter dressed for Toronto’s previous game, but Knox didn’t; he’s to start his first game for the Argos on Saturday.
“(Knox) is a good player,” Jones said. “He was before we got to Saskatchewan and he was while we were there. He has had a couple of stints in the NFL because he’s a good player.”
