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Not to mention eye-opening.

“There’s a lot that goes in,” Reilly said of the inter-play banter, as well as after the snap. “There were a lot of times (Friday) night, where I’m out of the pocket running and pointing out directions to my guys, telling Cory (Watson) and Shakir (Bell) to go and block.

“We see a blitz coming and we’ve got a delayed screen to Shakir and before the ball’s even snapped, I’m yelling, ‘Go now, go now, go now!’ And he gets out and we get the ball thrown to him before the blitz could get to him. So there’s a lot of communication that happens.”

Of course, not everyone is suited for the live audio spotlight in the heat of the moment.

“I don’t even want to comment on it, to be honest with you,” said Eskimos head coach and former long-time CFL quarterback Jason Maas.

And while Reilly has been mic’d up in the past, it was for post-game editing purposes. This time, the quarterbacks’ words are being heard during the live broadcast as fans were brought right inside the huddle and onto the sidelines.

If and when Reilly’s turn comes and it becomes the Live Mike Broadcast, he welcomes it.

“It just depends if you’re comfortable just being yourself out there,” Reilly said. “I’ve been mic’d up for a number of games: The West final and the Grey Cup, I was mic’d up for the first game of the season.

“It’s hard at first because you try to censor yourself a little bit, but after the first couple of snaps you just realize this is how I play and this is who I am. They’ll use what they can and won’t what they can’t.”

Then again, knowing Reilly’s offensive line, who have become notorious for hijacking teammates’ interviews, the quarterback might be lucky to even get a word in edgewise on his own mic.

“Absolutely, that’s the thing,” said Reilly. “I think more than anything you just hear the hits and just the physicality of a football game and that’s the best part of it.

“So it might be kind of a cool experience.”

GModdejonge@postmedia.com

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