Riders’ short-yardage star Tommy Stevens ready to rumble with Ti-Cats

Tommy Stevens is looking to help lay the smackdown on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this weekend.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders short-yardage quarterback, who is a fan of professional wrestling, has the theme song of WWE wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin play every time he converts a third down for the team.

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After one of his three touchdowns in a 42-20 win over the Ottawa Redblacks, he got two water bottles and smashed them together, just like the professional wrestler would do — though Austin would use cans of beer instead.

“Someone tipped me off with the idea last week — I don’t even remember who it was, but it hit me in the moment, and I thought it would be a good time to do it, and it happened,” Stevens said. “It was pretty cool. It wasn’t really planned.”

While he may have gotten some of his teammates wet during the celebration, there was one thing he made sure wasn’t in danger.

“I made sure not to get the iPad (wet) because I didn’t want to pay for that,” Stevens said.

The theme of the game this week is also appropriate, as Hamilton has branded the showdown “WrestleFest,” which will include a live wrestling match. Kickoff for the heavyweight showdown is set for 5 p.m. Saturday. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 3 p.m.

One thing Stevens has been paying for is packs of doughnuts for the linemen every time he scores a touchdown. Stevens is up to 11 rushing touchdowns in eight games.

The Riders’ all-time touchdown mark is 18, set by Ken Carpenter in 1955. The CFL record is 23, which is held by Winnipeg Blue Bombers wide receiver Milt Stegall, who reached that mark in 2002.

Offensive co-ordinator Marc Mueller has known Stevens since the quarterback came to the league in 2022 with the Calgary Stampeders. Mueller was the quarterbacks coach in Calgary from 2020 to 2023.

“Not only is he a good guy, but when he goes in there, he seems to lift everybody. I think he galvanizes the team a little bit and he does a great job,” Mueller said.

This season, Mueller and the offence haven’t just been using Stevens on third-and-short calls, but have called on him to close games and eat up a lot of time on the clock.

“Tommy was successful with this stuff in college. He was drafted to the Saints and played in the NFL with Carolina, and they had a package like this for him. It’s hard to prepare for and it takes time to prepare for,” Mueller said.

“There’s 45 guys on the roster, and you want to be able to have a package for all of them. You try to make sure when you get into situations to use that package that everyone is prepared to do so.”

Stevens said he and Mueller have talked about running these kinds of run-option plays for a few years.

“I’ve shown him some of the stuff I was able to do at Penn State and that utility role I played there. Handed over some of the best plays we’ve run there and kind of brainstormed and found things that worked towards my skill set and also the guys that are up front with the blocking schemes and all that,” Stevens said.

“I’ve said it always starts with (the line), and if they aren’t doing their job, it’s not going to be a successful play. I think their skill set is the priority and I just try to make it happen.”

Offensive guards Zack Fry (knee) and Daniel Johnson (illness) did not participate in Tuesday’s practice. Returner James Letcher Jr. (forearm) and defensive lineman Ali Saad (calf) were both limited.