SportsCage and TSN analyst Glen Suitor agrees with colleague Farhan Lalji that Trevor Harris can win the Canadian Football League's Most Outstanding Player award in 2025.
"I think Trevor can be an MOP -- absolutely. He's a championship-calibre quarterback," Suitor said on the SportsCage. "He can get them there, but it's going to take everyone on that roster, top to bottom."
Suitor compared the current Riders' quarterback room back to the one in 1989 when he won the Grey Cup with Saskatchewan.
"We believed that Kent Austin and Tom Burgess could get us there. We believed all season long. Whether we won a game or lost or had a bad game or a good one, we knew they could get us there," Suitor recalled.
"Trevor's a star player. Trevor has seen it all. He's a leader. He takes care of himself. They've got a great backup with experience, Jake threw for almost 4,000 yards last year on a team that struggled. When you look at their quarterback room, that's where it starts and it's good."
During the 1989 season, the Green and White went 9-9 in the regular season and finished third in the West Division. The Roughriders beat the Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Elks to advance to the Grey Cup and defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 43-40.
Suitor believes the Riders could be contenders this season with the roster general manager Jeremy O'Day and the front office have put together.
"What they've done in the offseason and how their offensive line looks, it tells me that the organization has said: 'We know what style of quarterbacks we have. This is the type of O-line we need with that guy,'" Suitor said.
"I guarantee you that Tre Ford in Edmonton, their O-line can be younger because he's going to be a different type of guy. He's going to be all over the edges and running and scrambling."
During the offseason, Saskatchewan added multiple-time All-CFL centre Sean McEwen and former Grey Cup champion Phillip Gagnon.
Some CFL pundits have released power rankings prior to this season starting. For example, 3DowNation ranks Riders first, while CFL.ca has them in third. In Suitor's opinion, the Green and White should ignore what the noise from the outside.
"You have to teach that you can't control what the outside world is saying. You can't control what the media is saying. You can't control what that person in the grocery store said to you. What you can control is how you respond to it and I would say be indifferent to all of that," Suitor detailed.
"It hurts when someone tells you you're no good or that you stink or whatever. Be indifferent to it, don't react or respond, whether it's good or bad, whether it's praise or criticism, don't respond to it because you prioritize what you can control: bringing that team together. What's the difference between winning and losing? The difference is, do they stay together? Do they believe? Are they all pulling the rope? Are they playing for each other? Because if they're playing for money or they're playing depending on criticism or praise, that will blow up on them at some point."
