Ray anxious to work with Trestman

Ricky Ray is anxious to get started with Marc Trestman.

Trestman named Ray his starting quarterback Tuesday shortly after being introduced as the Toronto Argonauts new head coach. It was a bold endorsement considering Ray has started just 11 games the last two years due to various injuries.

But after losing the starter’s job to newcomer Drew Willy at the end of last season, the 37-year-old Ray says he’s invigorated by the opportunity to play for the offensive-minded Trestman.

“Definitely going into training camp knowing where you stand allows you to focus in a little bit tighter on what your job is,” Ray said during a conference call Thursday. “It’s nice to have the confidence of the coach (right) off the bat and go in there and have the first opportunity to really prove yourself to him and the team.

“You don’t have to deal with uncertainty and not really knowing what your opportunity is going to be or what your role is going to be.”

Predictably, the six-foot-three, 210pound Ray was non-commital about playing past 2017.

“You’ve got to play it one year at a time,” Ray said. “There’s so much that can happen in professional sports and for me, that’s kind of the approach I’ve always kind of taken.”

Trestman has a well-earned reputation as a quarterback guru. In 2002 as the Oakland Raiders offensive co-ordinator, he helped a 37-year-old Rich Gannon become the NFL’s most valuable player after Gannon compled 67.6 per cent of his passes for 4,689 yards with 26 TDs and 10 interceptions.

Over 17 seasons as an NFL offensive co-ordinator and position coach, Trestman also helped San Francisco’s Steve Young, Arizona’s Jake Plummer and Detroit’s Scott Mitchell succeed. As well, he led the Montreal Alouettes, with veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo in tow, to three Grey Cup appearances (two wins) from 2008 to 2012.

“I’m definitely excited about learning from him, playing in his system and all the things he’s going to bring,” Ray said.