What Trevor Harris, Zach Collaros admire about each other

Trevor Harris and Zach Collaros will meet on OK Tire Labour Day Weekend on Sunday night as their respective teams battle in one of the most explosive rivalries in the CFL.

But there’s more between the veteran quarterbacks than just comparing their stat lines.

Harris and Collaros have been teammates, roommates, and workout and study partners.

And now they’re competitors.

While the years have gone by and jersey colours have changed for each of them plenty of times, one thing remains: their mutual respect for each other.

“(Collaros is) truly one of the all-time greats and to be able to share the field with him and compete against him is something that I’ll miss when I’m done,” Harris said at the CFL’s offseason Content Capture earlier this year.

“What he’s accomplished has not shocked me at all,” continued Harris. “He’s a guy that, if I’m a coach or a general manager, you can rest your head on a pillow at night very, very comfortably in knowing that Zach Collaros is your franchise quarterback. He’s a walking Hall of Famer.”

Collaros feels much of the same about Harris.

“I think the greatest part of Trevor is he's been who he's been the entire time and he's true to himself,” Collaros said, also at the offseason Content Capture in April. “He's as genuine as they come. He's not going to let anybody outwork him. He's always going to be prepared.”

WORK ETHIC AND PREPARATION

For Harris, the respect for Collaros started way before they became division rivals.

Both came into the league in 2012 as members of the Toronto Argonauts, looking to kick-start their CFL careers in a quarterback room that included Ricky Ray and Jarious Jackson.

“Initially, the thing that stood out to me was Zach’s work ethic, his authenticity and that he could do some things that I couldn’t do as a quarterback,” said Harris, who was also Collaros’ roommate in 2013. “We quickly became close and became workout buddies.”

With being a professional quarterback comes a lot of off-the-field work, studying the playbook and watching film. Collaros would sit with Harris at the University of Toronto and watch how Harris would prepare, picking up as much as he could from his peer.

“I'd probably ask him, ‘how are you remembering what the hots are? How are you remembering what the differences between Sierra and Nevada?’ Those kinds of things,” said Collaros. “He kind of just told me how he was doing it, and I mimicked that for a long, long time, and that really helped me just learn it.”

COMPETITION FOR THE BACKUP ROLES

That preparation was on full display when both Harris and Collaros were competing for the No. 2 and No. 3 quarterback positions in Toronto.

While both pivots admitted they competed at practice against each other because they wanted the job, there was never any hard feelings or ill intent towards the other.

“When I went through that process, it was like, just be myself," said Harris when asked about the competition between him and Collaros. “Don't try and be Zach. Don't try and be Ricky. Don't try and be anybody but who I am.”

“I can remember (head coach Scott Milanovich) saying to me, “you and Trevor's, your numbers from camp are kind of identical,’” said Collaros. “I can remember thinking to myself, 'man, I feel like Trevor's just always so dialled in.'

"I didn't think that our numbers would be the same. I mean, I was having some success, but that just speaks to how a football player he is and how practice means the same to him.”

BEST PART ABOUT GAME

Both quarterbacks have followed and watched each other’s respective careers since they were together in Toronto, and have noticed exactly what it is that makes the other so good at what he does.

“He’s the only quarterback I've ever seen be able to make a consistent living off of improv,” said Harris. “Usually (you) don't do that very much because it's really hard to sustain success. You go watch him and he's a genie in the pocket.

“He's able to maneuver and do little subtle movements, maybe that most people don't realize, to just buy himself six inches of space to make a throw. It's maybe different than when he was in his 20s, when he was running around and reversing field and all that kind of stuff. But he's been one of the only people to be able to go off schedule plays consistently and make things happen.”

“He just encompasses what you're looking for in a quarterback,” said Collaros of Harris' best qualities. “You're looking for mental toughness. You're looking for accuracy and football IQ. I would say he has all three of those things. I think the way that he's able to locate the football to receivers and allow for them to run after the catch is special.

“His recognition of the defence and him getting the football out of his hands in a timely manner is special. That's football IQ. Then just being able to overcome any kind of adversity, whether that's in-game during a season, during his career, whatever that looks like, he's just been amazing at that.”

UNDERRATED PART OF GAME

For Harris, the most underrated parts of Collaros' game aren't things that will show up on the box score.

“The subtle movement in the pocket because oftentimes when you watch a throw, if you'd slow it down, it's like, man, you got the ball over that guy's fingers by this much, or if you were to the right six inches, you would have gotten hit,” said Harris.

“And I think that's something that him and I both do a good job of, especially Zach, is getting that subtle movement and allowing yourself to buy that space to make the throw," he continued. "I think something that nobody would probably know is just his leadership ability, just being authentically himself, and he's never wavered.”

Collaros, meanwhile, believes that the most underrated part of Harris' game is his ability to use his legs and his accuracy.

“He's not known to be a runner, but he takes great care of himself,” Collaros said. “He trains. If he gets outside the pocket and there's a lane, he'll get you the first down.

“If people say that he doesn't have the strongest arm, let's just say,” continued Collaros. “He's still putting the ball on the money, and there's a reason those guys go and score after they catch it, right? They're not having to wait on the ball. They're not having to make a circus catch. He's deadly accurate.”

FRIENDS, BUT NOT ON SUNDAY

More than a decade after sharing a quarterback room with each other, they’ve taken different paths, fought through their own adversities, won Grey Cups and carved out names for themselves in the CFL.

Now they’ll meet on opposite sides of the field as the next chapter of the Labour Day Classic between the Bombers and Riders gets ready to unfold on Sunday night.

Saskatchewan is second in the West at 7-4. Winnipeg is right behind, tied with the Lions at 6-5. Which of these friends turned foes (for just 60 minutes) will get the best of the other?