Nomination a feather in the cap of Fajardo’s big year as Riders’ QB
Cody Fajardo’s first season as a CFL starting quarterback has been a little hairy.
The Saskatchewan quarterback revealed he hasn’t had a haircut since June when the Riders were on their first of three bye weeks.
“This is probably the longest my hair has been,” Fajardo said with a chuckle on Wednesday after Global Regina’s Taylor Shire inquired about the quarterback’s long hair.
Fajardo said his wife, Laura, encouraged him to grow out his hair and see how it looked. Then the Riders started winning and Fajardo couldn’t bring himself to cut his locks.
“It’s one of those things that I’m going to let ride to the end of the season,” Fajardo said. “That’s why you see me put on a hat as much as I can just to cover it up. My brother is getting married in December, so I have to get it nice and tight for that.”
The long hair coincides with Fajardo’s impressive season. He became the starting quarterback when Zach Collaros suffered a concussion after an illegal hit to the head during Saskatchewan’s 23-17 season-opening loss to the Hamilton Tiger-cats.
The Ottawa Redblacks defeated the Riders 44-41 the next week, which marked Fajardo’s start as a CFL quarterback. But the Riders rebounded from their 0-2 start and now carry a 12-5 record into Saturday’s regular-season finale against the visiting Eskimos.
A victory or tie would see the Riders clinch first place in the West, along with an opening-round playoff bye for the first time since 2009.
The Riders are in that position due in part to Fajardo’s on-field production.
The 27-year-old pivot leads the CFL in passing yardage (4,302), while completing 18 touchdown passes against eight interceptions and rushing for 10 majors.
Fajardo’s season was recognized Wednesday when it was announced he is Saskatchewan’s unanimous nominee for the most outstanding player award. He received the nod after voting by four Regina-based representatives of the Football Reporters of Canada and Riders head coach Craig Dickenson.
“This award is more about the team than about me,” Fajardo said after Wednesday ’s closed practice at the University of Regina. “The MOP is one thing, but it shows that our team is really talented.”
Fajardo has exhibited his individual talents after being a career backup and short-yardage specialist with the Toronto Argonauts (2016-2017) and B.C. Lions (2018). He signed a free-agent contract with the Riders during the off-season with every intention of being Collaros’s understudy.
“In terms of the opportunity that I had, I just didn’t want to regret it,” Fajardo said. “If I didn’t perform to the best of my abilities, I could have been out of the league as well. It was a high-pressure situation.”
Fajardo has come through in the clutch for the Riders. On Saturday, he engineered his fourth game-winning drive of the season in Saskatchewan’s 27-24 victory over the host Eskimos, clinching a home playoff game for the Riders.
“The fourth-quarter drives have been pretty remarkable,” Fajardo said. “Those are the cool moments that I will remember for the rest of my life.”
The Riders’ other nominees for most outstanding player awards are defensive end Charleston Hughes (defensive), centre Dan Clark (offensive lineman), guard Dakoda Shepley (rookie), punter Jon Ryan (special teams) and linebacker Cameron Judge (Canadian).