When the Calgary Stampeders acquired Kevin Glenn earlier this year, they knew he would supply the veteran presence needed to stabilize the quarterback spot. What they didn’t know is by halftime of the second game of the year, he would be inserted as the starting quarterback.
However, an injury on an innocent-looking fall to Drew Tate had the Stampeders turning to Glenn to run the show. There is no definitive word on how long Tate will be out of the Calgary lineup.
“It’s nothing I haven’t done before”, smiled Glenn following a Calgary’s practice this week. 
“You still got to out and play. Picking up the correct reads and blitzes and all that kind of stuff, I feel kind of comfortable.”
The Stampeders worked with Glenn during a layover in Kingston, Ontario. The team set up camp at Queen’s University rather than fly all the way back to Calgary, only to come back to Montreal in a six day period.
The injury to Drew Tate also set off a scramble to find a third quarterback. The team immediately reached out to Brad Sinopoli, who was with the team last year but released at the end of training camp this season. Reaching out was one thing, finding him was another.
“I was way out there in St. John, Newfoundland, “said Sinopoli. ”I wasn’t watching the game (Calgary-Toronto) and my dad called and said Drew went down and I kind of waited after that. Drew and I are kind of tight and I felt kind of bad for him. Coach Dave (Dickenson) told me to stay in shape for the year. It would be kind of weird anyway if I wasn’t working out and throwing the football.”
But for the foreseeable future, the Stampeders are in Glenn’s hands. Glenn broke into the Canadian Football League in 2001 and has seen time with Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and Hamilton. In the process he has racked up two 5,000-yard seasons.
That veteran experience and success is comforting for Calgary coach/GM John Hufnagel.
“Kevin’s a veteran quarterback. He’s got a lot of starts under his belt and won a lot of games in the Canadian Football League,” noted Hufnagel. “He’s experienced a lot of different defences and he’s played Montreal many times in his career and he’ll be ready to go.”
However, if the Calgary offence somehow struggles to score points, they can always turn to return star Larry Taylor to crank up the yards or points. Taylor is coming off one of the dazzling games in recent Canadian Football League history.
His 441 all-purpose yards was the second most productive game in league history, trailing only a 2000-yard effort by Winnipeg’s Albert Johnson III.
His 222 kickoff return yards were second in Calgary history, trailing only Derrick Crawford’s 224 yards in 1990.
Taylor was quick to spread the praise for his success. “It was a good game. They happened to be the team that made that one extra play to put themselves in a position to win that game,” said Taylor.
“All the credit to the guys up front. It starts with those guys to give me the opportunity to use my ability. Without those guys up there, I’m worthless and can’t use the gifts that I have”.
This game will be the second and final meeting of the year between the teams. Clearly Montreal will want a little redemption for their opening night, one-sided loss. Meanwhile, the Stampeders will want to go home with a plus-500 record before they begin a two-game home stand.
They will likely be playing those games with Kevin Glenn under center.
