Rookie Jarret Doege saw the majority of the first-team reps during Tuesday’s practice, but Edmonton Elks’ head coach and general manager Chris Jones is not yet ready to name his starting quarterback after benching Taylor Cornelius on Sunday.
“That position is no different than anybody else. What about left tackle? We’ll have someone start at left tackle, plus I’m gonna start a quarterback this week as well,” Jones told the Edmonton media.
“Jarret took a lot of the snaps today but we’ll have both of them ready, for sure.”
Doege made his CFL debut as the team’s third-string quarterback in a 43-31 loss to the Toronto Argonauts last week, entering the game late in the third quarter. He impressed in the limited audition, completing nine-of-11 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns, while also tossing a pick-six.
He appears the odds-on favourite to start for the team on Friday against the Ottawa Redblacks, drawing muted praise from his head coach.
“He can get them in and out of the huddle, he does a real nice job managing the game, and he’s got a lot of starter quality moxie to him,” Jones said.
Doege had a circuitous college career which included stops at Bowling Green, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, and Troy. In 53 career appearances in six NCAA seasons, he completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 11,069 yards, 84 touchdowns, and 37 interceptions.
“I’m very comfortable and I’ve played a lot of football in my career. I’m just preparing like I’m the starter each week; continue studying and continue to learn this game, continue to learn the game plan and be prepared if my name is called,” the 25-year-old told reporters after his first day with the ones.
“I think it’s important, just getting timing down with those starting receivers. I haven’t got to throw to those guys a lot. There’s a bunch of dudes that can go start for us right now and whoever starts at quarterback, our goal is just to get the ball in their hands and let them go make plays.”
Doege would replace Cornelius, who was appointed as the Elks’ starter mid-way through last season and received a lucrative new contract that included guaranteed money. He was expected to make a developmental leap entered 2023 but has yet to deliver.
Through three games, the Oklahoma State product has completed 40-of-65 passes for 440 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Sunday’s showing was his best yet, connecting on 14-of-18 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown, but the team’s slow-moving offence forced Jones to make a change.
Still, Edmonton’s bench boss is not ruling out the strong-armed 27-year-old entirely.
“He’s a pro’s pro and he’s a great human being. He’s gonna work harder than he ever has worked,” Jones said. “Last year when he started the thing off, he was number three on the depth chart so he’s gonna put in all the work necessary to make sure that he’s prepared.”
At least one quarterbacking decision has been made for the Elks, however, as the team parted ways with listed backup and short-yardage specialist Kai Locksley. The release stemmed from an apparent dispute on the sideline regarding Locksley being passed over in favour of Doege when Cornelius was pulled, though Jones refused to comment on the matter.
The team brought back training camp cut Khalil Tate on Tuesday and made clear he will handle the short-yardage duties going forward. That leaves Canadian quarterback Tre Ford, who made three starts as a rookie in 2022, in limbo once again after being left off the roster in favour of Doege last week.
If Doege starts as suspected, that would require Ford to unseat Cornelius as the backup in order to dress — unless the team makes the unlikely decision to carry a fourth quarterback. Jones provided no indication of his thought process but insisted he is comfortable with the morale of both players.
“They’re both very similar. They’re high-character guys that have been good players wherever they’ve been, both high school and college, and so they fully expect a lot out of themselves,” he said. “They’re gonna work hard just to make sure that they’re prepared.”
Edmonton will have one more day of practice before they have to officially name a starter on Thursday. The Elks (0-3) will kick-off against the Redblacks (0-2) at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 30.
