Roughriders set to kick off CFL pre-season at home tonight

The much anticipated return of quarterback Darian Durant will have to wait at least another week.

Durant, who hasn't played since a season-ending injury in the first half of the season opener last year, will sit this one out.

It's all about the backups Saturday night, at least at quarterback, where there's a heated battle to be Durant's understudy.

Brett Smith doesn't look at it that way. The second-year quarterback saw a lot of action last season following Durant's injury.

Smith said the only camp competition he's involved with is against himself.

"In reality, I compete against myself everyday and really the only person I want to be better than is myself the day before."

That may be fine and dandy for Smith, but there's a pecking order in football. If Smith doesn't produce Saturday night, he may find himself sliding down the depth chart and perhaps even out of a job.

Though Smith does realize his previous CFL experience may give him somewhat of an advantage.

"I definitely didn't come in with any complacency whatsoever. My goal is to start one day, but at the same time I'm realistic. I understand it's Darian's team, so filling that backup role is my duty for now."

How much time Smith sees against the Lions is up in the air.

B.J. Coleman is slated to start. It will be his first game action since an Arena Football League game a year ago.

He hasn't played in an outdoor game since the NFL pre-season in 2013.

Coleman said the training camp tempo has been quick, but there's no substitution for actual game experience. In the CFL, he has none.

"Just getting back on the horse is kind of goal number one. To make sure you're in and out of the huddle, keep the procedure penalties to a minimum, get the guys on the same page," the quarterback from Tennessee said with a southern drawl.

Coleman has the label of being the big arm in camp, but to succeed, he said, you need to be a field general and even generals make mistakes.

"That's why you have pre-season games. You're gonna make mistakes, that's inevitable. But it's how you respond to those mistakes which make you the player that you want to become."

There's another quarterback in the equation who may see a little action on Saturday and that's Phillip Sims. The 23-year-old has only been in camp for a week, but Coleman and Smith are expected to get the bulk of the snaps.

Game time Saturday night is 7 p.m. CST.

Following the game the Riders will head back to Saskatoon for one more week of camp before their final pre-season game in Edmonton.