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Brannagan will have steep hill to climb

But let’s keep things in perspective. A Canadian quarterback hasn’t started a game in the CFL since 1996 when Larry Jusdanis lined up behind centre for the Hamilton Tiger Cats. Brannagan is a great quarterback and he’ll compete hard for one of the three quarterback spots in training camp, but his chances of starting for the Argos on Canada Day are slim to none.

At camp, Brannagan will be competing for the third quarterback spot — not the first. He’ll have a steep hill to climb competing against Dalton Bell who saw time last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Gibran Hamdan who was the third string quarterback on the less-than-stellar 2009 Buffalo Bills and Cleo Lemon who earned a starting role with the Miami Dolphins in 2006. The Argos probably aren’t done shopping either. With their quarterback position so wide open, look for the Boatmen to go to training camp with five candidates at the position in order to create some competition.

Brannagan’s biggest challenge will be adjusting to the speed of the CFL game and to not having the luxury of the Gaels’ stellar offensive line.

Watch the Yates Cup again. Brannagan stood remarkably still in the pocket as the veteran Queen’s line turned away Western blitzers like they were tackle bags. That’s just not going to happen with the Argos, whose offensive line allowed their quarterbacks to be sacked 38 times over 19 games in 2009.

A point of comparison? Brannagan was sacked just a dozen times in Queen’s 12 regular season and playoff games in 2009 and four of those came in the Gaels 27-26 win over the University of Western Ontario on Oct. 17.

Brannagan will get plenty of press over the next week or so and throughout training camp. But he’s far from a sure thing to see the field for the Argos next season — or even earn a roster spot.

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