The Saskatchewan Roughriders are onto their third starting quarterback in the first six weeks of the regular season.

The team announced on Wednesday that Kevin Glenn is headed to the six-game injured list and Brett Smith will get his first CFL start on Friday in Edmonton against 3-1 Eskimos.

Glenn suffered a pectoral tear when making the tackle on an interception thrown during the third quarter of Sunday's 31-21 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. It doesn't require surgery, but he is expected to miss at least six weeks.

“He won't be able to throw for a number of weeks,” said head coach Corey Chamblin on the injury to Glenn.

It's a tough break for the Riders, who lost Darian Durant in Week 1.

Glenn had come in and was leading the CFL with 1,483 passing yards through five games, but the ball will be passed to Smith, who's in his first season with the Riders.

“I'm not going to put any pressures on him, it's not any different than when he played in college or where ever, it's the exact same,” said Chamblin. “Yeah, there's pros out there and you get paid for it, but there's a reason why he's here.”

Smith joined the Riders in March after spending six games on the Toronto Argonauts' practice roster in 2014. He won the back-up job over Tino Sunseri during training camp and has scored three rushing touchdowns in four games so far.

He went 2-of-2 for 12 yards in relief of Glenn last week against Hamilton.

“Every quarterback wants to come in and play, so I can't wait for the opportunity,” said Smith.

“I was torn, obviously I was hoping for the best for Kevin, but he's a great leader and mentor for me, so I was disappointed for him, but it's part of the business, you've got to be ready and I am.”

Smith was a standout in college with the University of Wyoming where he spend three seasons. He finished with 8,834 yards passing and a school-record 76 touchdowns. He also ran for 1,531 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The Oregon native will be thrown into the fire this week going against the best defence in the CFL in Edmonton. The Chris Jones-led unit has given up just 313.8 yards per game through four games and just 58 points.

“They're going to present a lot of different looks that are going to be difficult for us, but I do expect pressure,” said Smith.

“I have a lot of faith in my team, I have a lot of faith in the game plan and these coaches, and we're going to go in with a winning mentality and mindset and I just want to be a part of our first win, so hopefully we can execute well and we can get that.”

Smith found out that he would be starting on Monday and let his parents and girlfriend know about the opportunity. He said that his dad would be on hand for the game in Edmonton.

The Riders are expecting to bring in another quarterback to offset the loss of Glenn. A rumour on Twitter on Wednesday evening said it was former Alabama QB Blake Sims, who won two national championships with the Crimson Tide.

Another Canadian Down... Saskatchewan added Canadian fullback Carl Fitzgerald on Wednesday to help with the loss of Spencer Moore, who Chamblin said would be out several weeks with a foot injury.