As the Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Montreal Alouettes in CFL Grey Cupaction in Winnipeg, MB, November 16, 2025. Photo Electric Umbrella/Liam Richards
Two of Edinboro University’s football legends are about to be honoured at halftime — of a basketball game.
Saturday’s ceremony, to be held in Edinboro, Pa., will be another highlight in an eventful off-season for Saskatchewan Roughriders Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O’Day and the reigning Grey Cup champions’ starting quarterback, Trevor Harris.
Harris and O’Day about to be recognized as part of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference’s 75th-anniversary celebrations.
Harris is one of Edinboro’s five nominees in the Greatest Male Athlete category. O’Day and three other individuals are the Edinboro Fighting Scots’ Made in the PSAC honourees.
“It’s a gigantic honour — something I’m really, truly thankful for,” says Harris, a record-setting quarterback with Edinboro from 2006 to 2009.
“College was a long time ago for me, so for them to consider me for this with all the different athletes who have played in the all the different sports, I’m truly, truly honoured by it.
“It’s just a testament to Jesus Christ. I pray that it glorifies Him more than anything.”
During the PSAC’s 75th year, each member school is spotlighting stars in four categories — Greatest Male Athlete, Greatest Female Athlete, Made in the PSAC, and Distinguished Keystones.
O’Day and Harris are among 17 individuals who will be feted at halftime of the Fighting Scots’ upcoming men’s basketball game against California University of Pennsylvania. Each special guest will receive a PSAC 75 commemorative medal.
“It’s pretty neat that we have a couple of people who are going into the conference anniversary,” O’Day says. “It’s an honour and it’s nice to go back.”
Harris and O’Day first crossed paths in 2008, when the latter entered the Edinboro Athletics Hall of Fame. Harris was still a student at Edinboro, majoring in mathematics, at the time.
One needed a math degree to keep track of Harris’s eye-popping passing totals.
That was especially true on Nov. 21, 2009, when Harris played his final game of university football.
He completed 50 of 76 passes for a Division II-record 630 yards and five touchdowns in a playoff game against the host West Liberty (Pa.) Hilltoppers.
“T-Mobile” also ran for two touchdowns in a game West Liberty won 84-63.
“The score was like a basketball game,” marvels O’Day, who as an interested alumnus followed the proceedings online.
“I couldn’t believe what was going on. There were 1,170 (passing) yards between the two quarterbacks. It was unbelievable and the final score was crazy. You were wondering if there was any defence at all out there.”
After graduating from Edinboro, Harris signed with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent. The Jaguars’ GM at the time was Gene Smith, who was an assistant coach at Edinboro from 1989 to 1994.
Smith was on Edinboro’s coaching staff for O’Day’s first two of four seasons with the Fighting Scots.
Like Harris, O’Day began his professional football career with Toronto and won a Grey Cup as a first-year CFLer.
O’Day played for the Argonauts in 1997 and 1998 before signing with Saskatchewan as a free agent and spending 12 seasons on the Roughriders’ offensive line. He moved into the football operations department after the 2010 season and was named the GM in 2019.
Harris was a rookie with the Argonauts when they captured a CFL championship in 2012.
He spent four seasons with Toronto before suiting up for the Ottawa REDBLACKS (2016 to 2018), Edmonton Elks (2019 to 2021), Montreal Alouettes (2021 and 2022) and Saskatchewan (2023 to present).
For the time being, Harris and O’Day have this in common: Their most-recent game as a player was a Grey Cup showdown with Montreal.
O’Day stepped aside as a player — still at the top of his game — after a CFL championship contest that was played on Nov. 28, 2010.
On Nov. 16 of last year, Harris was named the 112th Grey Cup’s Most Valuable Player after quarterbacking Saskatchewan to a 25-17 victory over Montreal. Harris completed 23 of 27 passes, setting a Grey Cup single-game record for accuracy (85.2 per cent).
A new contract was soon completed. O’Day announced the re-signing of Harris on Dec. 4.
Their first successful negotiation culminated in a Feb. 14, 2023 announcement that Harris had joined the Roughriders.
“I’m grateful he brought me to Saskatchewan and allowed me to be the quarterback here — something I’ve never taken for granted and never will,” Harris says. “Being able to be the quarterback here is truly an honour.
“To be able to do the PSAC 75 with someone who has accomplished what he has accomplished, it’s very humbling to see my name next to Jeremy O’Day.
“It’s truly an honour in every respect.”
