The 111th Grey Cup features a quarterback unexpectedly starting for the East Division champion Toronto Argonauts.
Nick Arbuckle was forced into action after starting quarterback Chad Kelly suffered fractures to his right tibia and fibula after Montreal Alouettes defensive end Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund landed on Kelly’s leg during the East Final.
Arbuckle completed 5-of-8 passes for 73 yards to help secure Toronto’s 30-28 win, including a key throw across the middle to David Ungerer III for a 20-yard completion on second and eight. Immediately after the game, Argos’ head coach Ryan Dinwiddie named the journeyman as his starting QB for the CFL championship game.
“He’s a great leader. I don’t think anybody works harder than him. He’s a guy that I had to kick out of the weight room because he was doing too much, that’s who he is. He’s starting to slow down and understand what it takes to be a pro, not overthinking some things, because he is pretty intelligent and understands football,” Dinwiddie said.
“You don’t have to watch a million hours of film. Sometimes, you talk yourself into stuff based off what you see, just react to what it is. He’s a great character. If he’s the number two or number three, he’s going to be a part of it. He’s going to try to help out, selfless type guy and we want that in every locker room.”
It’s not the first time Toronto will be without Kelly who missed the first nine games to start the season due to his suspension for violating the league’s gender-based violence policy. The Argonauts went 5-4, including defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16-14 in Week 8. Arbuckle relieved Cameron Dukes and completed 12-of-22 passes for 87 yards.
“It builds conference in our locker room. Those guys understand that they can trust Nick. I’ve seen Nick do it; I understand how he operates,” Dinwiddie said.
“He’s a veteran presence and at the quarterback position, those guys gotta understand protection, understand coverage. Nick gives us that opportunity to see it as a coach and understands my thought process of why we want to do things — I’m very comfortable with him.”
Arbuckle and Dinwiddie have teamed up in the past when both were with the Calgary Stampeders from 2017-2019 while Dinwiddie was the quarterbacks coach. The 43-year-old bench boss watched Arbuckle’s Georgia State University film and advocated for the Stamps to put him on the team’s negotiation list.
“He’s evolved a ton. He had a lot of success in Calgary the one year. Then he went to different organizations, didn’t have as much success as he thought he was going to have — probably was trying to do too much. You’re not going to be a franchise quarterback overnight. I thought he tried to force it a bit,” Dinwiddie said.
“He’s so smart sometimes he gets himself in tough situations when I’ve had him in years prior. We told him this year, focus on being a quarterback. He’s worried about the little things now and not the big picture of what a franchise quarterback needs to be. That doesn’t need to be [his] thought process; just play quarterback, and that stuff will come.”
Arbuckle has his chance on Sunday when the Argonauts and Blue Bombers compete for the 111th Grey Cup with kickoff slated for 6:00 pm ET.
