Bisons face another QB quandary

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This article was published 12/09/2023 (1062 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The University of Manitoba Bisons will be without the leader of the herd for a while.

Head coach Brian Dobie said Tuesday that X-rays revealed starting quarterback Jackson Tachinski suffered a significant injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder in Friday’s 37-16 loss against the Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton.

The third-year Bison, in his first full season as the team’s unquestioned No.1 QB, was injured late in the second quarter — after falling awkwardly to the turf — and did not return.

“The best case scenario, we get him back beginning of October,” Dobie said.

“The optimism is such that there’s a very outside shot that he could be back for the homecoming game against Regina (on Sept. 23). That is much more unlikely than likely… and we’re extremely optimistic he’ll be back in time for the Oct. 1 game against Calgary at IG Field.”

That leaves the Bisons (0-2) in a tough spot as they prepare for a pivotal matchup against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in Vancouver (1 p.m.) on Saturday. Another loss would leave the team as longshots to make the Canada West conference playoffs in a year that began with much anticipation.

The team will turn to Sawyer Thiessen in a situation Dobie hopes leads to history repeating itself.

In 2021, Tachinski — then a freshman — took over in the second quarter of the season-opener after starter Des Catellier suffered a season-ending knee injury. The unproven quarterback went on to lead the Bisons to a 4-2 record and an appearance in the conference final, in what stands as the program’s most successful season in recent memory.

“I think we certainly learned that we should never underestimate any of our players. Sometimes you get caught in that, ‘This guy is No. 1 and therefore this guy is No. 2,’ and somehow that gets connected to it being a different level. But it was clearly not that case between Des Catellier and Jackson Tachinski,” Dobie said.

Of course, this situation is a bit different than the one Tachinski stepped into. Thiessen takes over a team in full desperation mode and teetering on the brink of a lost season. It doesn’t help that his first start of the season will come against a stingy T-Birds defence that has allowed just 25 points through two contests.

Thiessen gives the Bisons something to be optimistic about, though. The Mitchell product was a high school standout, leading the Steinbach Sabres in his Grade 10 and 11 years (His Grade 12 season was cancelled due to the pandemic).

Thiessen also has some U Sports experience under his belt, albeit minimal. While he’s attempted just 58 passes in his university career, 28 of those came in 2021 when the then-freshman drew a start against the Saskatchewan Huskies in place of Tachinski, who suffered an injury the week before. Though a 41-12 loss overshadowed any individual performances, Thiessen played admirably, completing 18 passes while tossing a touchdown and no interceptions.

“We tell our players to keep the faith and I think as coaches we have to also remember that,” Dobie said.

“Whoever is playing quarterback, is certainly a good player and does not present any kind of psychological barrier to our team. Heck, these guys are veteran players in Sawyer and (now back-up QB) Jordan (Hanslip) and they’re highly respected in the locker room.

“Either one of those guys can go in and play quarterback and give us an opportunity to win any game.”

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

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