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Fourth-stringer will start his second straight game on Saturday as home side battles Hamilton for a share of first place in East.
Author of the article:
Montreal Gazette
Montreal Gazette
Herb Zurkowsky
Published Sep 05, 2025 • Last updated 5 minutes ago • 3 minute read
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"I'm a guy that likes to think through everything," Montreal Alouettes quarterback James Morgan says. "Football's a unique blend of data and feel." Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
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It’s not enough for James Morgan to know the Alouettes film every practice.
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Now that Morgan, who began the season fourth on the team’s depth chart, has become the starting quarterback until Davis Alexander returns, he films each of his workouts on his phone, dissecting each pass and movement later that day as he continues to evolve and seeks improvement.
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“It’s part of my process,” Morgan explained on Thursday after he spent an additional 30 minutes on the field practising routes with receivers Hakeem Harris and Kaseem Ferdinand. “I like to film when I throw because it’s all about technique stuff. Throughout the course of a season, you lose some technique, obviously. When you’re out here, you’re focusing on the plays.
“It’s a nice tool. … Look at it and basically evaluate it. It’s cool to see the different things I can do.”
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Morgan starts his second consecutive game Saturday, when the Als host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Molson Stadium (1 p.m., TSN1, TSN5, RDS, TSN Radio-690, 98.5 FM). Montreal is on a four-game losing streak, while the visitors have lost their last three, but the contest has taken on added significance. The Als (5-6) would move into a first-place tie in the East Division with a win over Hamilton (6-5).
Morgan replaced an injured Caleb Evans during the second quarter at B.C. on Aug. 16. Morgan made his first career CFL start five days later — and after only one practice — at home against Winnipeg, but was held to 198 yards passing and one touchdown. He was intercepted twice.
Coming off a bye week, the Als had three full practices to prepare for Hamilton, which played on Monday. And Morgan will be surrounded by a stronger supporting cast with the return of injured receivers Tyson Philpot, Austin Mack and tailback Sean Thomas Erlington. Returner James Letcher Jr. also has recovered from a hand injury, providing an additional threat.
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“I’m a guy that likes to think through everything,” Morgan said. “Football’s a unique blend of data and feel. This (filming) is objective. I feel good throwing it out there, but when I record it and see myself, (perhaps) I’m taking too big of a stride or my shoulder’s coming up. Those are things I can see on the tape and adjust. It’s all about feeling it when you’re out there and not thinking about it.
“In terms of my mentality, it’s all about focus and belief. With a whole week of practice, it’s obviously great. The interesting thing about football, and especially playing quarterback, there’s not a lot of time to think when you’re out there. All your thinking has to be done beforehand. It’s almost like you’re building muscle memory. You go on the field and have to trigger these automatic responses based on what you’ve practised.”
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Alouettes safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy has recovered from a shoulder injury and will be in the lineup when the team hosts the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Saturday at Molson Stadium.
Als head coach Jason Maas never expects a quarterback to win a game alone. Instead, he wants his pivots to make great decisions, lead the offence and display confidence.
“With three practices, we’ve seen that,” Maas said. “We’ve seen his accuracy get better, better decision-making. We’ve seen his confidence grow and his leadership come out. That happens with preparation. That’s what we want to see out of him.”
With players returning, it behooves the Als to produce more offence. Only Edmonton, last in the West Division, has scored fewer points than Montreal. The Als have a CFL-low 18 offensive touchdowns, but are tied with Toronto for the league-high in field goals, with 34. That ratio won’t win many games.
During Thursday’s practice, Maas exploded at the offence after seven consecutive plays that weren’t executed properly.
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“We always would love to score more often,” Maas said. “We haven’t done enough. We’ve kicked a lot of field goals in the red zone and haven’t scored enough touchdowns. There’s plenty of opportunities there. We just haven’t sealed the deal. It comes down to the coaches coming up with a plan and the players executing. It’s a team effort and we’ve got to do a better job.”
Defensively, safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy (shoulder) returns, while tackle Mustafa Johnson (knee) makes his season debut. Johnson, who had six sacks in 15 games last season, hasn’t played since Sept. 28. While this is Alexander’s final game on the six-game injured list (hamstring), he’s not expected to play on Sept. 13 at Saskatchewan.
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