Jake Dolegala isn’t shying away from stepping into the starting quarterback role for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
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Dolegala, who has a 2-9 career record as a CFL starter, will take over for the injured Bo Levi Mitchell when the Tiger-Cats visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sunday
The 29-year-old Dolegala, who is in his second season with Hamilton, understands the expectations of replacing Mitchell, a future Hall of Fame quarterback
“Preparation should be the same,” Dolegala said. “You’re always preparing and acting like you’re going to be the starter. There’s a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. Obviously, Bo was having a heck of a year and I want to continue that for this team and for this organization
“Mentally, I’ve just got to go out there and stay within myself, don’t try to be a hero and do my thing.”
Mitchell suffered a broken left ankle in a 14-13 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 5. The 36-year-old Mitchell was off to a torrid start this season, completing 78.2 per cent of his passes to go with 1,107 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception
Dolegala has been communicating with Mitchell all week and shared some of the advice he was given
“Bo has already told me to just be myself, don’t try and be a hero,” Dolegala said. “He knows how I play, he’s like ‘Jake, you’re a gunslinger, we’re both gunslingers.’
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“He just wants me to go out there, be myself, take what is given, but when the shots are there, don’t be afraid to let it loose.”
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Mitchell had surgery on the ankle on July 6 and is expected to make a full recovery. It’s unknown if he will be able to return this season so head coach Scott Milanovich will depend on Dolegala and Tre Ford to run the Hamilton offence
While Ford, a free-agent signing from the Edmonton Elks in February, has been listed as the No. 2 quarterback on the Tiger-Cats depth chart this season, it was Dolegala that Milanovich chose to make Sunday’s start
“(Dolegala) just has more experience with what we’re doing right now,” explained Milanovich. “My hope when we brought Tre in is that he could kind of learn from Bo for a year and then if Bo chose to retire — I know there was talk of that last season— that he’d be ready to compete next year. I just think Jake has a little bit more experience with what we’re doing right now.”
Ford is a wild card for the Tiger-Cats with a style distinctly different from Mitchell and Dolegala. Known more for his scrambling and improvisation skills, Ford has been struggling with his consistency
In his first taste as a starter with the Elks, he was named their Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian in 2023, passing for 2,069 yards while rushing for 622 yards
He began the 2025 season as the Edmonton starter but lost the job to Cody Fajardo five games into the campaign. Ford was released by the Elks in January and subsequently signed with the Tiger-Cats in February
Saturday’s game will be a bit of homecoming for Dolegala who spent his first two seasons with the Riders before moving on to the B.C. Lions in 2024 and the Tiger-Cats in 2025
While the talk in Hamilton is about who isn’t playing, the talk in Saskatchewan is about someone returning to the lineup— running back A.J. Ouellette, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury
Since joining the Riders in 2024 as a free agent, Ouellette has become an integral part of the team, spearheading it to a Grey Cup title in 2025, with 1,222 rushing yards and eight touchdowns
Known for his toughness and intensity, Ouellette admitted that sometimes the Saskatchewan organization feels it must save him from himself when battling an injury
“Yes, I think my first year here was a big indicator on that, coming back from injury too soon and re-aggravating all that stuff,” said Ouellette, who missed 10 games in 2024 with an assortment of injuries
“Working with (head coach Corey) Mace for years now, he understands who I am. My main focus is to be able to play at my best and help the team win. But sometimes I’ve got to kind of figure out if I’m at my best or not.”
That doesn’t mean sitting on the sidelines is any easier for Ouellette
“Anytime you miss a practice, it eats at you so missing a game is 10 times worse. It’s great to know that I’ll be out there and hopefully execute my job and get a win,” said Ouellette
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2026
