Toronto Argonauts: Dan LeFevour to Start in Place of Injured Ricky Ray
The Toronto Argonauts announced that Ricky Ray will be sidelined four to six weeks and that Dan LeFevour will get the start in his place against Hamilton.
The Toronto Argonauts will once again be without starting quarterback Ricky Ray. Ray suffered a fractured rib and a deflated lung in Toronto’s loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and is expected to be out for four to six weeks.
Head coach Scott Milanovch believed that Ray suffered the injury after throwing an interception. Linebacker Adrian Tracy hit Ray hard in the ribs and hit the turf hard after throwing the ball but managed to stay in the game. Milanovich did say that the deflated lung has healed itself, which is good news moving forward for Ray.
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“He [Ray] feels like he has let people down, he is not feeling reliable for our team. He has had a tough go with two freak injuries and a tough hit,” said Milanovich. Ray had his best game of the season against Hamilton with 386 passing yards, three touchdowns, but threw two costly interceptions both times he was hit while delivering the ball. It was clear that Ray was hurting in the fourth quarter as Hamilton was able to put pressure on him.
The Argonauts will now turn to Dan LeFevour against Hamilton on Sunday afternoon at BMO Field. He was signed by the Argos in August after LeFevour was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL. LeFevour was with Hamilton from 2013 to 2014 where he spent time as the starting quarterback in 2014. He played last season in Montreal, but a shoulder injury sidelined him for most of the season.
LeFevour has had his fair share of unlucky injuries in his career but has a good opportunity moving forward with the Argos.
“The coaching staff has enough trust in me otherwise they would not have put me in this situation. Getting two days of reps has been good and I feel confident going into this week,” said LeFevour after practice.
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LeFevour will have to rely on his ability to move around in the pocket and scramble in order to evade the pressure from Hamilton’s defence. In 46 games in the CFL, he has 642 rushing yards with 11 rushing touchdowns. His best season came in 2014 when he took over the starting quarterback job in Hamilton where in six games he had 1,276 passing yards and added another 314 yards on the ground with eight combined touchdowns (four passing, four rushing).
He played college football at Central Michigan in the Mid-American Conference where he led the Chippewas to three conference championships in four years. He is the conference’s all-time leader in completions (1,171) and passing yards (12,905), and LeFevour’s 149 total touchdowns scored ranks second all-time in NCAA history.
Next: Argos Losing Streak Reaches Four Games
It will be a tough test for LeFevour going up against his former team and a pivotal one for the Argos who are on a four-game losing streak and 1-5 at BMO Field this season.