ROBSERVATIONS: Tommy Stevens, meet Peyton Manning … grappling with reality … and QB sneak stats!

Tommy Stevens is proud of a passing acquaintance with Peyton Manning.

Growing up in Indianapolis, Stevens sported the trendiest wardrobe by wearing a Colts No. 18 jersey — popularized by Manning over his first 14 NFL seasons.

“I’ve told people many times that, if it came down to it, I’d take a bullet for Peyton Manning because of what he means to our city,” Stevens, a 28-year-old quarterback, said after signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Tuesday.

As a youngster, Stevens could not have imagined he would one day meet Manning.

They crossed paths in 2019, after Stevens had transferred to Mississippi State from Penn State.

“Obviously, the Manning family has Ole Miss ties and there’s a big rivalry (with Mississippi State),” Stevens said. “Still, I was fortunate that Archie Manning (father of Peyton and Eli) called me.

“He said, ‘Hey, man, we’d love to have you as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy.’ That meant a ton to me because, growing up, I had watched Peyton play and I had watched Eli play.

“Peyton was kind of like my idol. I loved watching Peyton, even though I wasn’t playing quarterback at the time.

“So I end up going to the camp and spending some time around the Mannings.”

To simply be invited was overwhelming. But it gets better.

“I’ll never forget this,” Stevens said. “They had a little social event the first night and I walked up to the bar. I didn’t even realize he was there, but Peyton just walked up, put his arm around me and said, ‘Hey, Tommy, what are we drinking here?’ I didn’t even know that Peyton knew who I was.

“I don’t think people understand the significance of that for what it did to me, but I’ll never forget that. It was such a cool thing to have a couple of beers with Peyton Manning.

“I feel like a part of my life kind of stopped at that moment. It was surreal. I was like, ‘Did that really just happen?’

“It was pretty special. He was very down-to-earth. He answered all the questions I had for him. Archie was great. Eli was great.

“I was able to see young Arch Manning at that point. I think he was in the eighth grade. Right then, as an eighth grader, he was probably better than I was as a sophomore in college.

“I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect and love for the Manning family.”

AROUND AND A BOUT

Stevens also has a love for the fine art of professional wrestling.

“I was a huge WWE fan as a kid,” the 6-foot-4, 245-pounder recalled.

“My dad said, ‘Have you ever thought about trying wrestling? Do you want to give that a shot?’ I said, ‘That would be sweet.’

“We show up and it’s obviously not professional wrestling. It’s real wrestling. I’m thinking, ‘What is this? Where are the steel chairs at?’

“They didn’t have anybody my size to wrestle, so they matched me up with a kid younger than me who was about the same size. He was a little bit heavier than I was.

“Fast forward a couple of years. That kid ended up being a Division I offensive lineman, so I didn’t have a very good time at wrestling practice. That wasn’t my best showing.

“I don’t know if we went to too many more of those.”

SNEAKY STEVENS

Although the Roughriders are excited about Stevens’ array of skills, his glittering resume as a short-yardage quarterback stands out.

Last season, for example, he helped the Calgary Stampeders finish with a league-best 94.1-per-cent conversion rate (32-for-34) in third-and-short situations.

Saskatchewan was sixth at 82.4 per cent (14-for-17).

The teams had the same rankings one year earlier, when Calgary was first (88.9 per cent) and Saskatchewan was sixth (79.5).

Stevens could be a game-changer for Saskatchewan, considering that he is the CFL’s reigning co-leader in touchdowns. He and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Chris Streveler, also a quarterback, each scored 10 times in 2024.

In fact, Stevens is a good bet to continue the trend of a quarterback leading Saskatchewan in touchdown runs.

Antonio Pipkin led the way with five majors in 2023. Shea Patterson scored a team-best seven TDs last year.

If Stevens can replicate last year’s production, he will become only the fourth Roughriders quarterback to hit double digits in touchdowns.

Kerry Joseph set the record of 13 in 2007, when he was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player and guided Saskatchewan to a Grey Cup championship.

The previous mark of 11 was set by Kent Austin in 1992.

Cody Fajardo ran for 10 scores in 2019.

Height-wise, Stevens is somewhat comparable to 6-foot-3, 215-pound Bryan Bennett, who took some of the short-yardage responsibilities off Fajardo’s plate in 2019.

“I don’t know if we had 100-per-cent targeted Tommy,” Roughriders Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O’Day said of the team’s mindset entering the free agency period.

“As time went on and we talked about it more and more, it just made sense for us to bring him in. Part of it was we were kind of tired of seeing him run against us a little bit, because he’s had a lot of success against us in short yardage.

“At the end of the day, we felt like he’s a weapon and that we could maybe utilize him in different ways.”

The nature and extent of the deployment will be determined by offensive co-ordinator Marc Mueller.

One thing is certain: Stevens will be conspicuous in situations when it is imperative to move the chains along the ground.

“He comes in with a mindset when he comes in for short yardage,” O’Day said. “What we can do with him is going to be up to Marc, whether he has packages or whatever his plan is.

“In short yardage, in particular against us, you’re almost saying, ‘They’re going to get the first down (with Stevens behind centre).’

“It used to be that way. In the last five to seven years, there have been times when you’re not sure if you’re going to get it. That’s not just with us, but with other teams, too.

“Against Toronto, I don’t know how many times we stopped them on the goal line last year, but that usually didn’t happen 10 years ago. When it was second-and-one or third-and-one, it was usually kind of a gimmie.

“It feels like when he goes out, there’s a high-percentage chance of getting the first down. Not only that, if you’re in second-and-two or second-and-three, you can utilize him and move the chains.

“A lot of it was he’d go out and we’d just hope that we would tackle him in some cases. He had some long runs against us that were hard to watch.

“He’s really excited to be a Rider and we’re excited to have him.”

The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Stevens ranks as one of the bigger quarterbacks in franchise history, although he is not the all-time leader in height or weight.

Height: 6-foot-7 (Paxton Lynch, 2021; Jake Dolegala, 2022-23).

Weight: 265 pounds (Neo Aoga, 2001).

SASKATCHEWAN STUFFAGE

Further to O’Day’s comment about the effectiveness of goal-line defences, here are some numbers …

• Last year, Saskatchewan was the CFL’s second-best defensive team in third-and-short situations. The Roughriders stopped eight of 28 attempts for a success rate of 28.6 per cent. Toronto, which also had eight stops, led the way at 33.3 per cent (eight of 24). The league average was 16.6 per cent (37 of 224). Short yardage, in this case, is defined as a third-down attempt requiring anything from mere inches to two yards to extend a possession.

• Saskatchewan forced three turnovers on downs on Aug. 22 in Toronto. The Argonauts failed to convert two third-and-ones and one third-and-two. C.J. Reavis registered the tackle on both third-and-ones. A third-and-two incompletion by Toronto was preceded by a second-and-two handoff that did not produce any yardage. Also of note was a second-and-one situation that turned into third-and-three when Roughriders defensive tackle Micah Johnson trapped running back Ka’Deem Carey for a loss of two.

• The Roughriders stopped three of 14 third-and-short situations (17.6 per cent) in 2023. Most notable was a goal-line stand in a season-opening, 17-13 victory over the Edmonton Elks. With Saskatchewan holding a four-point led, the Elks’ Kai Locksley was held out of the end zone on three consecutive quarterback sneaks from the one-yard line. The capper was a third-down tackle by Rolan Milligan Jr., who toppled Locksley for a loss of two with 4:11 remaining in the game.

ROLL CREDITS

• Nice people who deserve a plug: Tommy Stevens, Trevor Harris, Kalie Harris, Tom Harris, Suzanne Harris, Arielle Zerr, Sean McEwen, Stephanie McEwen, Olivia McEwen, Rob Harrison, Mishynn Miller, Sharron Esch, Brent Buchko, Jason Nicurity, Tyler Lloyd, Sydney Matheson and Stefani Langenegger.