By Stampeders.com Staff

How can it be that a player who scored three touchdowns in a pre-season game can be worried about job security?

Well, when you’re Bryant Moniz and you have a Grey Cup MVP and a nine-year veteran ahead of you on the depth chart and a couple of eager and talented first-year players looking over your shoulder, you simply don’t take anything for granted.

Bo Levi Mitchell and Drew Tate were virtual roster locks and CFL rookies Andrew Buckley and Dominique Davis both excelled in the Stampeders’ pre-season opener against BC, so Moniz was holding his breath as Saturday’s roster-cutdown deadline drew near, even if he did find the end zone three times as the short-yardage quarterback in Friday’s road victory over the Roughriders.

Buckley will return to the University of Calgary and Davis was released, which allows Moniz to retain the No. 3 position on the QB depth chart.

“It’s definitely a lot of weight off your shoulders,” the Hawaii native said after Saturday’s rundown at McMahon Stadium. “There’s a lot of pressure in training camp knowing that you’re competing for a job. Going against great competition like Dom and Buckley . . . you know that they’re on your back chasing for your job. It’s good to know that my work during training camp has paid off.”

Moniz’s three touchdowns on Friday came on his only three rushing attempts, all of them from the one-yard line.

“I just do my job,” he shrugged. “If that’s what I need to do, then I’ll get in there and do that. But it’s all because of the guys up front. They get the push and I just follow them.”

Though respectful of the competition for his roster spot, Moniz was confident in his own progression after his rookie season in 2014.

“I think it was just my mentality and my attitude coming into camp and being comfortable because of the year I had last year under the offence,” he said. “This year, I just felt way more comfortable throughout training camp and knowing Dickie’s (offensive coordinator Dave Dickenson’s) offence. I had a good feel of what we do here.  

“I can judge my own performance throughout training camp and just the way I approached the game last pre-season compared to this pre-season. I just had way more knowledge going into the game and understanding the defences we were going against and understanding the short-yardage game of the CFL. I felt good out there.”