Courtesy Regina Leader Post:

Before he joined the B.C. Lions, an out-of-work quarterback named Buck Pierce was interested in becoming a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Apparently, the interest wasn’t mutual.

“I sent some stuff up here to Regina and really just didn’t hear a whole lot back from them,” offered Pierce, who leads B.C. into tonight’s preseason opener at Mosaic Stadium. “I don’t think they knew who I was personally and they kind of wanted to see me in person. It just happened to work out with B.C. first.”

The Riders’ general manager at the time was Roy Shivers, who ironically is now B.C.’s director of player personnel. Pierce eventually peddled his wares to the Lions, who brought him to a free-agent camp and signed him in 2005. He’s now battling Jarious Jackson for the starter’s role.

“I’m not complaining at all,” Pierce said with a smile. “Fate works in mysterious ways. Everything has worked out for a reason. I got opportunities in B.C. that I might not have got somewhere else. If the situation was reversed you really just don’t know what would have happened.”

Pierce is eager to bounce back from a frustrating 2007 season that included toe, hand, shoulder and rib injuries. The most serious was a third-degree separation of his right (throwing) shoulder, but he has proclaimed himself fit and ready to become a starter after three seasons of fill-in duty behind injury-plagued veteran Dave Dickenson.

“That’s the whole goal of a professional athlete is to be the No. 1 guy so I’m excited for it,” said Pierce, 26.

“I just have to prove myself again and get my confidence back out there on the field. I’m not going to get hurt all the time and I am going to be able to go out there and play my game and not get injured.”

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