Saskatchewan Roughriders' running back A.J. Ouellete has missed 10 games this season due to a nagging hip injury. That doesn’t mean his year isn’t unfolding as he thought it would when he signed as a free agent with the Green and White.
Ouellette spent his first four Canadian Football League seasons in Toronto with the Argonauts. The latter, in 2023, saw him put up a career-best 1,009 yards on 178 carries with eight touchdowns. Those numbers caught the eye of most CFL executives entering the league’s free agent signing period.
After Ouellette’s former defensive coordinator, Corey Mace, was named the head coach in Saskatchewan, the pieces started to fall into place for Ouellette to sign with the Riders. Those pieces included a call from Mace to Ouellette, eventually convincing the Ohio University grad to sign in Riderville.
While Mace and the Roughriders couldn’t have foreseen the injuries Ouellette battled after signing, the bench boss maintained his vision of what he wanted from his running back.
“I would say the first time I picked up the phone and said, ‘Hey, do you want to come play for us?’ I was thinking about games like this, in the cold.”
That game was a 14-carry, 70-yard, two touchdown effort against B.C. in the West Division Semi-Final. A game that was played with the temperature at seven-degrees celsius with a 23 KM/H wind. A performance that put a smile on Mace’s face.
“This is exactly how we saw it. So happy for him.”
The 29-year-old Ouellette credited his patience and support from the organization to make sure he was ready to go down the stretch for the Riders.
“It feels good to finally be healthy at the right time going into the playoffs, he told the 620 CKRM SportsCage. “I knew going into those six games where I sat, that I needed to prepare every week like I was going to play and now it’s paying off.”
Ouellette’s defining play in the Riders' win against B.C. was a 30-yard touchdown run that gave Saskatchewan a 20-13 advantage over the Lions, a lead that they would not surrender. According to quarterback Trevor Harris, the play wasn’t a new one for the Riders' offence.
“A few weeks ago, when we played them, we ran the exact same play. We threw a screen on the play because of numbers, and they adjusted.”
For Ouellette, he knew it was his play to be made thanks to a pre-snap read by his West Division all-star QB.
“Middle of the cadence, he’s telling me he’s handing the ball off, so I already know I’m getting the ball,” Ouellette said.
30 yards later, Ouellette took the ball into the end zone. Harris’ confidence in his running back wasn’t just on that critical play in the third quarter. It has been building throughout the year, even when Ouellette was out of the lineup. Harris recalls a conversation early in October.
“He goes: ‘They didn’t pay me to come here and run in June and July. They did it so I could run in October and November," Harri said. “That sent chills up my spine, I never told him that, but I walked up the stairs and I was like: ‘This guy’s freaking ready.’ You saw it."
Harris, Ouellette and the Saskatchewan Roughriders look to continue their postseason run as the team travels to Winnipeg on Saturday for the West Final against the Blue Bombers. Countdown to Kick-off begins with Justin Dunk and Wes Cates is at 2:30 p.m. Luc Mullinder and I join in at 4:30 p.m. with kick-off to follow at 5:30 p.m. on the Co-operators Roughrider Radio Network.
