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Having just returned from Mexico, a dapper Zach Collaros demonstrated a suitably sunny disposition during his introductory media conference as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“It feels great,” the 29-year-old quarterback said Tuesday at Mosaic Stadium. “Flying out here today, I felt kind of like a new kid in school.”

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Now he hopes for passing grades after enduring a difficult 2017 season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who dealt him to Saskatchewan on Jan. 3 for a second-round choice (10th overall) in the 2018 CFL draft.

Collaros was relegated to the sideline after Hamilton’s record dropped to 0-8. His demotion coincided with the appointment of June Jones as the Tiger-Cats’ head coach, succeeding Kent Austin.

Under quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, the Tiger-Cats’ offence flourished, creating a situation whereby Collaros was deemed expendable.

“Obviously things didn’t end the way I’d hoped for there and the way we had hoped for as a team last year, but you can’t dwell on that,” Collaros said. “I’m really looking forward to this opportunity and focusing on the present. There’s not a better place to be.”