Stampeders list rookie Jake Maier as starting QB vs. Alouettes

CALGARY — Rookie American quarterback Jake Maier will make his first CFL start Friday when the Calgary Stampeders host the Montreal Alouettes.

Maier was listed ahead of Canadian Michael O’Connor when Calgary (0-2) released its depth chart Thursday for the game against Montreal (1-0).

Stampeders release their Week 3 depth chart.

-Jake Maier listed as the starting QB.
-Steffan Banks in for Shawn Lemon at DE.
-Ucambre Williams to 1-game IL, Leon Johnson gets the start. Also does Good-Jones dress after missing two days with illness or does Bell bounce out? pic.twitter.com/TQkAVVkQLA

— Matty ???? (@MattRoseYYC) August 19, 2021

Maier replaces veteran Bo Levi Mitchell, who went on the six-game injured list earlier this week with a broken fibula.

READ MORE: Bo Levi Mitchell out with broken leg

The move is surprising as O’Connor, a 25-year-old Ottawa native, was expected to start in Mitchell’s absence. O’Connor is in his second CFL season, first with Calgary. He dressed for nine games with Toronto in 2019, seeing action in two.

Maier threw for 11,163 yards and 88 touchdowns and was intercepted 33 times over three seasons at the University of California-Davis.

The six-foot, 200-pound pivot was the Big Sky Conference’s newcomer of the year in 2017 and the conference’s offensive player of the year in 2018.