Shiltz and Willy in race for starting quarterback role
Alouettes head coach Mike Sherman has repeatedly stated he hopes to name the team’s starting quarterback a week to 10 days after the start of training camp, but it’s becoming clear this has become a two-man race between veteran Drew Willy and sophomore Matt Shiltz.
Both continue to take the majority of reps with what’s considered to be the starting offence, leaving the remaining three — including former first-round NFL draft choice Josh Freeman — battling for crumbs.
The 30-year-old Freeman, who was selected 17th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009, played his last NFL game in January 2016. He reportedly struggled at the Als’ April mini-camp and has started slowly through three days of training camp workouts.
“I don’t know that struggling ’s the word,” Sherman said on Wednesday. “When you go into a new system and you’re dealing with 12 players on defence and trying to figure out where everybody ’s at, it’s a challenge.
“He’s battling through that challenge. Let’s put it that way.”
If Sherman keeps to his schedule — and he has been asked about the quarterback situation on a daily basis, as journalists come to camp
for the first time — that would mean determining the team’s starter before Montreal’s opening exhibition game, May 31 at Ottawa.
It seems unlikely he would take that route before seeing any of the pivots participate in a game. He acknowledged earlier this week he might have to slightly amend that schedule.
But Sherman made it clear on Wednesday no decision will be taken prematurely.
“I guess I’ll make it once it’s obvious to me who the starter is,” he said. “It’s (still) too early. I don’t have to do that right now. No one’s holding a gun to my head yet. They will soon enough.
“Competition’s a good thing. To say one guy is the guy right now doesn’t help us get better. I’d rather the No. 1 and No. 2 guy, whomever they are, compete against each other and make each other better. To determine a starter this early, and you determine there’s no more competition, you kind of shut things down a bit. I don’t want to do that. I want them competing.”
The Als have gone through 12 quarterbacks since Anthony Calvillo was forced to retire after sustaining a concussion during an August 2013 game at Saskatchewan. General manager Kavis Reed has repeatedly said he hopes to stop the carousel, sooner rather than later.