November 18, 2023

Maas on Collaros: ‘He has the it factor’

Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca

HAMILTON — It’s almost show time.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Montreal Alouettes are about to go head to head for the 110th Grey Cup on Sunday at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, with the Bombers taking the field first for walkthroughs on Saturday followed by the Alouettes as they wrap up their preparation.

Alouettes’ head coach Jason Maas spoke to the media about Bombers’ quarterback Zach Collaros and their time together in Toronto, while also touching on the team’s connection with the province of Quebec. Fajardo echoed his coaches’ sentiments about the identity of the Alouettes being closely tied to the city of Montreal.

Collaros and Willie Jefferson took the podium to talk about their experience being in multiple Grey Cups, the advise they give young players on the roster and taking a moment to appreciate the week before the game.

Head coach Mike O’Shea of the Blue Bombers also talked about his team’s leadership and not underestimating an Alouettes team that is currently on a seven-game winning streak.

Check out the standout quotes from the final day of walkthroughs:

110th GREY CUP
» Four storylines to watch in the 110th Grey Cup 
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» Four storylines to watch in the 110th Grey Cup

 

 

“I have fun. I lock in when I need to lock in,  focus up when I need to focus. When it’s time to go to meetings and practice and things like that. I’m a leader and I don’t want guys to slack off and think this is just another trip. We’re here to handle business. We’re here to take care of business. We’re here to play a game.”

Jefferson on his experience being in multiple Grey Cups and talking to the young players about the preparation during the week

“Being able to come out here, embrace the Canadian culture, embrace the Canadian Football League, embrace the fans. This is where I want to be. This is what I love and this is where I can make a name for myself.”

— The defensive lineman about talking to young players who are new to the CFL

“Just one of those guys, a rare athlete you don’t see come around very often. So being around him is pretty neat, watching him work on the field. He’s a tremendous leader for us. He’s been so consistent. I don’t know that we’ve ever heard him complain. He does not complain. Doesn’t have the time for it or just chooses not to. I don’t know where he learned that or how that happened, but  it’s so refreshing.”

— O’Shea on Jefferson’s leadership on and off the field

“We have a very smart, large pool of veteran players to guard against that. And then if you just put on Montreal’s film and watch what they’ve done in the last six or seven games, I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.”

— The Bombers head coach on the possibility of his players overlooking the Alouettes and how well they have played over the final stretch of the season

“As you get older, you appreciate it a lot more and you understand how fast it goes. You try to soak it all in, spend as much time with your team as you possibly can. Whether that’s watching tape, grabbing a bite to eat, swimming in the pool, recovering, all those different things, I just think it means more. Again, because you understand how hard it is to get here and how fast it all goes, win or lose, there’s not another game.”

— Collaros on how different it feels to be in his fourth straight Grey Cup

 

“You see when a quarterback has the it factor. I saw that with Zach (Collaros). There’s a confidence about him. Obviously, he has ability, he has a skill set. His movement patterns in the pocket, he has great ability in the pocket moving around, he can locate receivers, he can make plays out of nothing. He’s accurate, strong arm, smart.”

— Maas on working with Collaros early in their careers with the Toronto Argonauts

“I think you always have a vision, you always have a goal in mind. And that goal is to make a Grey Cup and win a Grey Cup as a team and organization. You know how special that is and how memorable that can be. When we’ve only won seven Grey Cups as an organization and yet we still talk about those teams. There’s a lot of teams that you don’t talk about, because they didn’t win that game.”

— About how much it would mean to the Alouettes to win the Grey Cup

“There’s a great sense of pride and knowing we are from Quebec. And we talked about that pride in the locker room about the Quebecois. We are proud of the heritage, we wanted the Americans and the Western Canadians, the rest of Canada to be proud as they are. And that was only going to happen if we could come together and learn one another very well. I’m just so proud that that all happened.”

— On the Alouettes coming together as a team to celebrate their Quebecois heritage

“To tell you the truth, that’s the foundation of our team. A lot of those guys have been with this team for multiple years, or have been in that city for multiple years. They were the first guys I asked for food recommendations or what to do when my wife was in town. When you see just how they work every single day.”

— Fajardo on the local element of Montreal being integrated to the DNA of the team

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