QB1: Jeremiah Masoli is back

Exactly one year to the day he suffered an ugly injury resulting from a dirty hit, Jeremiah Masoli will take the field as the starting quarterback for the Ottawa REDBLACKS, as they take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday.

Surgeries, hospital stays, anger, frustration, setbacks, and so many other hurdles stood between Masoli and the football field. His mental toughness was tested, but every chance he got, Masoli was on the field with his teammates, or in film sessions trying to chip in anyway possible.

“He leads by example, and these guys really follow him,” said REDBLACKS’ Head Coach Bob Dyce. “We talked about splitting [the cliques] up in the locker room, which Jeremiah may have initiated. He’s always looking for the best thing to help this team move forward. When it comes to meetings, he’s like a secondary coach, and he does a great job of balancing teaching and being a teammate.”

From Dyce down, the vibes are high right now, stringing emotions together from a home win, and now Masoli set to return.

“I’m extremely happy and excited for him,” Dyce said. “I don’t think that anybody has worked harder than he has to get back to where he is. He’s the consummate team player, and it’s been a long time, but it has all been work for him. He’s continued to fight, but that’s the kind of team we need to be, and that’s why I’m excited to have him lead this team, because of the man he is.”

Jaelon Acklin, who shares plenty of brotherly love with Masoli, is relieved to have his guy back, and has enjoyed the week of practice catching balls thrown by his best friend.

“It’s always good when you get your number one quarterback back,” he said. “One of the biggest reasons I came to Ottawa was because of Jeremiah, so I’m very excited.”

While nearly everyone else is publicly elated to see the 2008 Holliday Bowl MVP listed as the number one quarterback on the depth chart, Masoli – as he has always done – is keeping his emotions under tight-guarded wraps.

Those feelings came out when he thinks about his family, as his wife and kids sit in the field boxes at TD Place during practice, excited to hear the final horn go, because they know they get to see daddy and his teammates.

“I don’t know where I would be without my wife or my kids, I probably would have been driven insane with this injury,” Masoli joked. “They have brought me peace, and have really helped me to this point. Not only my family here, but back in the States, and my teammates here in Ottawa.”

Although the injury presented an incredible challenge for Masoli, in his case, absence truely did make the heart grow fonder. However, patience was a virtue in this instance, as Masoli was close to being ready for a while, but the cautious approach was the only play he and the REDBLACKS thought worthy.

“I’ve grown to love this game so much, especially [in Canada],” Masoli said. “I love the challenges that come with being a quarterback, and I’m thankful to still be where I’m at. None of the front office, coaches, or my teammates pressured me to come back before I felt ready for it.”

Some might confuse Masoli’s reserved stance with a lack of confidence, but in reality, his calm demeanor has been a large part of the player he has become, and a long injury isn’t going to get in his way.

“I’m still taking things day by day. I’m focused on the present just trying to make sure that I’m locked in on everything that I need to do, and keeping the same routine,” Masoli said. “I’m trying not to indulge in any emotions or anything like that, I just want to be myself and stay consistent.”

The other factor at play is confidence. Acklin has been seeing Masoli practice every week of the season thus far, and is beyond confident he’ll be able to step right up, with minimal rust.

“Even when he wasn’t practicing, he’s been out here, he’s been making game plans, he’s been a complete football player,” Acklin said. “There’s nothing to worry about with Jeremiah, you know where he’s going to put the ball, it doesn’t matter if it has been a year and a half, he’s always going to put the same work in.”

This is only the beginning, Masoli says. From the sidelines, he has noticed a handful of things he wants to clean up, but believes the REDBLACKS are on the right path.

“Truthfully, taking a big picture look at this, we still have a lot of injuries we’re trying to nourish, but I feel like we have competed really hard, and the two losses – to me – were close,” Masoli explained. “We’re still building, still figuring out who we are, but that’s being forged every single day. We’re close.”