Ticats quarterback Zach Collaros expected to start Friday against Eskimos

Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Zach Collaros will get the start on Friday against the Edmonton Eskimos after sitting out the past three weeks with a concussion.

He doesn’t expect any problem shaking off the rust as the Ticats make their final playoff push.

“I guess we’ll have to see on Friday,” said the 28-year-old, who suffered the concussion on Oct. 1 against Calgary. “I felt we had a pretty good week (of practice). We executed the plays that were installed and we’re excited to get out there.”

Hamilton (7-9) is second in the CFL East and guaranteed a playoff spot, but with two games left in the regular season can still overtake Ottawa (7-8-1) for first, and a bye into the East Final. The Ticats host Edmonton and Montreal while Ottawa plays a home-and-home against Winnipeg.

Meanwhile, Edmonton (8-8) has secured at least fourth in the CFL West and a crossover playoff spot, but there’s a slight chance it can move up if it wins its remaining two games — they play Toronto next week — and Winnipeg loses both.

If the standings remain the same in two weeks, this game could be a preview of the East semifinal.

Collaros, who has a history of concussions, said it can be frustrating during recovery because you can’t do anything except rest.

“For me, it feels like you’re out a lot longer than you actually are, because you can’t really do anything,” he said. “You can’t be involved. From that standpoint it feels like I’ve been away for a couple months. It’s only been two or three weeks.”

Hamilton coach Kent Austin said he “feels great” about Collaros coming back, but is quick to add that the team also has confidence in back-up Jeremiah Masoli.

The last time these two teams met was back on July 23, when the Ticats overcame a 31-6 third-quarter deficit to defeat the Eskmos 37-31. Masoli started that game for Hamilton and led the comeback.

Masoli also led last week’s dramatic win against Ottawa. Down 27-12 at the half Hamilton, came back to win 39-36 in double overtime.

He’s started eight games for Hamilton this season, compiling a 4-4 record, throwing for 2,695 yards, 15 TDs and 12 interceptions. Collaros, who missed the first six games while recovering from knee surgery, has a 3-5 record as starter this season with 2,531 passing yards, 17 TDs and eight interceptions.

Edmonton’s Mike Reilly is the league’s second-leading quarterback (behind Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell) with 5,315 passing yards and 26 touchdowns, while throwing just 12 interceptions. He has two league-leading receivers in Adarius Bowman (1,609 receiving yards, eight TDs) and Derel Walker (1,464 receiving yards, eight TDs).

Austin said his main concern is the Edmonton offence.

“They get a lot of production out of their offence and have a really good quarterback,” he said. “If they’re rolling offensively you’re going to have to score to beat them. And you’ve got to really play well on special teams and make sure that you win the battle of field position. Especially if they’re no-huddling offensively and staying on the football field and killing the clock.”

Collaros won’t have a couple of his go-to receivers in the game. Luke Tasker remains on the six-game injured list and Brandon Banks is serving the second of his two-game drug suspension for violating the league’s drug policy.

But he will have a new weapon in Kevin Elliott, who was signed as a free agent on Oct. 10 after being released by Toronto. Elliott made his debut as a Ticat last week against Ottawa, making five catches for 102 yards and one touchdown.