June 24, 2012

He’s No. 1: Esks pin Jyles as starting quarterback

Esks.com

CFL.ca Staff

EDMONTON — Almost fittingly, it will be Steven Jyles for the Eskimos and Ricky Ray for the Argonauts under centre when the two teams faceoff in Week 1 action at Commonwealth Stadium.

Sunday, Eskimos Head Coach Kavis Reed announced that Jyles, acquired by Edmonton in the Ray trade, will be the team’s starting quarterback heading into the 2012 season.

The announcement by Reed ends lengthy speculation over who would be Edmonton’s starting pivot in the absence of Ray. Throughout training camp, Jyles was in a one-on-one battle with veteran Kerry Joseph over the no.1 job.

Both Jyles and Joseph appeared in just one of Edmonton’s two pre-season games, with the former completing four of his seven passes for just 53 yards.

Joseph, meanwhile, completed six of his eight attempts for 133 yards.

In an injury shortened 2011 season with the Argonauts, Jyles appeared in just eight games, leading the Boatmen to a 3-5-0 record.

He passed for 1,430 yards, seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

The Esks also announced that they have signed linebacker Clint Kent, who was released by the Blue Bombers on Friday.

Kent,appeared in 16 games for the Bombers last season. He registered 56 tackles to go along with a career-best four sacks.