MONTREAL –  Chris Streveler stands in front of a row of media in a downtown Montreal hotel and deftly handles questions from the assembled gathering as if stiff-arming a would-be tackler.

He is polite. He is engaging, even beginning the interview by lamenting his decision to ditch his suit for shorts and a T-shirt.

And over the course of just a few minutes it becomes clear, once again, that this dude is made for this. Made for this in the sense that he seems to come to this moment – filling in for Matt Nichols as a straight-from-college starting quarterback – straight from Hollywood central casting.

Just for the record, the 23-year-old isn’t some screenwriter’s creation, but hails from Crystal Lake, IL., just 45 minutes north of Chicago. Still, to see him in action both running the Bombers offence and acting as a front man for the club is to witness a man, if nothing else, who is ready and prepared for this opportunity.

Overwhelmed by any or all of this? Hardly.

“There’s nothing that’s really caught me off guard here,” said Streveler this week. “My motto, whether I was a back-up competing for a starting job or just trying to make the team, has always been ‘You’re mentally prepared to be the starter. Always prepare like you’re going to be the starter no matter where you are on the depth chart.’ And just having that mindset going into anything is helpful because when that situation arises you’re more mentally ready to handle it.”

“This is new to me, but I just told myself I was going to be as mentally prepared as possible whether I was the third-string guy or the starter. My teammates have been great with this. They’ve helped me move along with this whole process whether it’s been out on the field or in the locker room. They’ve been absolutely awesome. That just makes me feel even more comfortable.”

That’s the part of Streveler which has so quickly endeared him to his teammates. Being in a huddle with a group of men in front of 20,000-plus screaming fans can be revealing, after all, not just for what happens next when the ball is snapped, but for his ability to lead, to direct and be the quarterback.

And as simple as that might sound in theory, it’s often not as easy when put into practice.

“He acts exactly like a quarterback should act,” said centre Matthias Goossen. “He’s vocal, he exudes confidence and he’s not afraid to put his head down and run through somebody. That’s what we like about him. He’s a tough guy. We’ll stand up for him, but he doesn’t need anybody to stand up for him because he can handle himself which is a cool thing to see in a young quarterback.

“You also notice how much he wants to learn. He knows he’s not above anybody else and sees himself as just one part and a piece in this team. It’s hard to get better when you don’t take responsibility for things you do wrong. In life, in football, when you can take responsibility and learn from mistakes… I heard it said somewhere that if you always think you’re right, you’ll never learn. He’s doing a good job of learning, understanding when he’s not right and adjusting.

“We all appreciate that because it’s really easy to play with somebody who is humble, selfless and just wants to win.”

The next step the Bombers make this season depends, in many ways, on the steps Streveler takes in his development. He was an unknown heading into his first pro start in last week’s loss to Edmonton and with Nichols still on the mend, will be at the wheel of the offence for another few weeks, at least. But now defensive coordinators have tape on him and can devise gameplans based on the 57 offensive snaps the Bombers managed last week.

Then again, he’s also had another week working in Paul LaPolice’s offence and another week of learning.

“Having a week under my belt definitely helps,” said Streveler. “Last week was fast… the announcement was made on the Monday, it was a short week to begin with. Now having that under my belt and understanding the routine, yeah, I do feel a little more comfortable this week. Just like anybody else would after going through something once and then knowing what to expect.

“All of it goes along together. There’s the stuff that isn’t necessarily on-the-field-football and then you have the football stuff. You’ve got to learn how to deal with both those things. There was a lot of media stuff, especially last week. I have to learn to handle that and then learn and compete every single day.”

That’s another window into what the Bombers have seen from Streveler not since he was announced as the starter, but from the first day he arrived. Even-keel doesn’t even begin to describe his daily demeanour.

“He’s always been poised,” said wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky, a teammate and roommate of Streveler during their days at Minnesota, before the latter transferred to South Dakota. “He’s got a strong mind. That’s why no matter what is happening he can brush it off.

“He learns… it sucks for him if he makes a mistake. But he doesn’t, in that moment, let the mistake take over. It’s like he saves it and says, ‘I’ll look at this later, but let’s worry about this drive right now.’ He’s super poised that way.

“He’s a great competitor, but always calm. You look at him for guidance and when you see a calm, collected QB, that translates to the whole offence.

“He’s already been through a lot,” added Wolitarsky. “At (Minnesota) he was under the radar for a while and then not put at the position he wanted (switched to receiver) and was moved around. He swallowed his pride, put the team first and just kept working. He’s got a chip on his shoulder and sometimes you want that from your quarterback.”

BOMBER REPORT | June 21, 2018

Some additional notes, separate from our Game Preview.

HELLO, MOE:

Bombers LB/DB Maurice Leggett is expected to make his ’18 debut against the Alouettes after being activated from the injured list to the 46-man roster. Leggett is listed at his strong-side linebacker spot behind Chandler Fenner, but could also see time as a defensive halfback and also share the kick-return duties with Kevin Fogg.

“He’s very close to being ready to go and we’ll probably make our decision an hour before game time,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “He’s experienced. He’s seen a lot of football in this league and when he’s out there he does make plays. Once again, he missed all of training camp, so we’ll have to measure it again after meetings.”

ROSTER SHUFFLE:

The Bombers made four lineup changes to their 46-man roster, adding Leggett, QB Mitchell Gale, LB Ian Wild and RB Kienan LaFrance. Coming off the 46 are WR/KR Ryan Lankford, QB Alex Ross, LB Kyrie Wilson and RB Johnny Augustine. Ross joins QB Matt Nichols, OL Qadr Spooner and RB/SB Timothy Flanders on the six-game injured list, while WR Kenbrell Thompkins is on the one-game.

BIENVENUE:

This is Streveler’s first visit to Montreal. But, as the cliché goes, he is not here to explore or sight-see. This is a business trip, after all.

“I walked down the street and got some lunch, so that might be the extent of my exploring today,” he said. “We’re here to play a football game. We just got through walking through… I might take some time to get off my feet, but tonight I’ll be in the playbook and focused on what we have to do tomorrow. That’s what we’re here for.”

QUOTABLE:

Andrew Harris on facing ex-teammate Jamaal Westerman, a notorious ‘to-the-whistle’ competitor, now with the Alouettes:

“I played against him when I played for B.C. and knew the type of player he was. Even in practice he has his moments where he does certain things. We’ll see how it goes. I’m looking forward to it. At the end of the day, he’s a guy you played with so that’s always fun to play against ex-teammates and guys you have friendships with.

“There’s the talking, the stuff that goes on between the whistles and after whistles and the unmentionables,” added Harris with a grin. “I’m looking forward to it.”

FYI:

• Kevin Fogg’s 110-yard missed field-goal return for a TD was the longest by a Bomber since Maurice Leggett in 2014 returned a miss 114 yards.
• Drew Willy is 0-3 in his three starts with the Als and now 12-27 in his career.
• The Bombers led all CFL teams in rushing in Week 1 with 137 yards along the ground (Andrew Harris -77; Streveler – 30; Nic Demski –20; Weston Dressler – 10). Harris now has 6,345 career rushing yards, ranking him 19^th on the CFL’s all-time list.
• Adarius Bowman was targeted three times last week, but did not make a catch. That is the second time in his last six games he did not finish with a reception.
• The last CFL QB to throw for three TDs in his debut, as Streveler did last week, was Montreal’s Rakeem Cato on July 3, 2015.