Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo. (File photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

By Britton Gray

Riders’ Fajardo finding ways to feed competitive spirit during COVID-19 pandemic

May 22, 2020 | 1:23 PM

Cody Fajardo’s competitive spirit isn’t dampened easily, even during a pandemic.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback has been in Washington, D.C., during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Fajardo has changed his normal off-season workout regimen as he prepares to head into his first season as the top quarterback on the CFL team’s depth chart.

“This year has been a lot harder on me. I’ve taken on more long-distance running. The hard part for me and my off-season training right now — and I think a lot of athletes feel this way — is that we don’t have access to the weights that we usually have so a lot of us can’t just pack on mass like we want to,” Fajardo told The Green Zone on Thursday as a part of its CFL Quarterback Extravaganza.

“But I can say this: I am in the best shape of my life. The running and the conditioning aspect of what I can do in my house and outside limits me. If I can’t pack on the muscle and the mass, I’m going to have to be in the best shape where I can handle everything that’s thrown at me.”

The fact Fajardo is feeling good about his off-season plan will be music to the ears of Roughriders fans after the quarterback had to battle through two torn oblique muscles late in the 2019 season.

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Fajardo will look to try and improve on a season in which he was named the West Division’s most outstanding player. Fajardo, who took over the starting quarterback job in Week 2 after a concussion to Zach Collaros, threw for 4,716 yards and 23 touchdowns with just nine interceptions. He also ran for 611 yards and 10 touchdowns.

During the pandemic, Fajardo has also had to find ways to keep himself entertained and find a way to feed his competitive spirit.

And he found that in an unlikely place — the stock markets.

“I’m not quite as in tune as I was before but (wife Laura) was dead on,” Fajardo said. “Every morning I would wake up, 9:30 a.m. on the dot, I would look and be like, ‘Who am I rooting for today?’ ”

But as he and Laura prepare to make the move from D.C. back to Reno, Nev., he learned it maybe wasn’t the best way to spend his time.

“It was fun for the couple weeks it was green, but then my home team started losing a lot more than I expected and I started having to jump ship and figure out a different way to get my competitiveness,” Fajardo said.

But it’s that competitiveness that has allowed Fajardo to flourish on the field.

His drive was on full display while in his senior year with the University of Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack.

In his junior year, the Wolf Pack lost the annual Fremont Cannon showdown with the rival University of Nevada Las Vegas Rebels for the first time in eight years. He didn’t want that to happen in his senior year.

“I received death threats on Facebook which I eventually had to delete, I got stared at when I went out to eat, I was living quarantine in my life and I just couldn’t go outside. The only way I could combat that was to just come out and guarantee that we were going to win,” Fajardo said.

“I knew deep down that I was going to do everything I can to win that football game because of how low I felt and how low I was after that game my junior year.”

Fajardo delivered on that promise and led his team to a 49-27 win.

“I don’t think I’ll ever guarantee another win in my career,” he said. “I think it’s best to go out 1-and-0 and know that I accomplished my guarantee.”

That attitude also led to finding an unlikely love in his life — carnival corndogs.

“I think that just started (after) going to a carnival. Because of my competitiveness, I always wanted to win something when I went to the carnival. It didn’t matter what it was. Whether it was a pink bear or a football, I just had to win something and bring something home and my fuel was corndogs,” Fajardo said.

One of the only times Fajardo ever had his competitiveness dampened was while he was with the Oakland Raiders during the 2015 pre-season as an undrafted free agent.

“I didn’t really love the game anymore. I was so stressed out just trying to make the roster and I put so much pressure on myself and my family and it was just so tough. When I got released by the Raiders, and you might think I’m crazy, but it was a breath of fresh air.”

After eight or nine tryout opportunities with other NFL teams, Fajardo decided to make the move north and join the Toronto Argonauts.

After spending 2015-17 with the Argos and 2018 with the B.C. Lions, Fajardo signed with the Riders on a one-year deal. On October 21, 2019, Fajardo signed a two-year contract extension with the Green and White.

As much as Fajardo wants to get back onto the field, it has turned into more of a waiting game than a football one.

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced Wednesday the earliest the 2020 season could begin — if there is one at all, due to COVID-19 — would be September.

Fajardo has been champing at the bit to get out and begin implementing the system of new offensive co-ordinator Jason Maas.

“I predict a lot of points, a lot of yardage and us getting the ball in our playmakers’ hands every single down. What I think is the most exciting for me, at least, (is) Coach Maas has tailor-made his offence over the years to make it where it’s everything that fits my strength and my weaknesses are masked through this offence,” Fajardo said.

“I can tell (Maas) put a lot of time and a lot of effort into making me feel as comfortable as possible at the starting quarterback position and I think anytime you have an offensive co-ordinator who puts his offence aside to make sure it’s tailor-made to who his starting quarterback is, it truly tells a lot about who he is as a coach and as a person.”

While Regina will no longer be the set host city of the Grey Cup, the Roughriders could still possibly have the final game of the season at Mosaic Stadium. If there is a season, the team in the Grey Cup with the best regular-season record would be the home team for the game.