Michael Hughes is the rare kicker whose recent experiences include three touchdowns in one day.

The West Virginia-born placement specialist boarded three different flights before arriving in Regina in early October, whereupon he auditioned for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and impressed the team’s brass.

Now he is preparing to ascend to new heights, career-wise. His CFL debut is slated for Saturday, when the Roughriders will face the B.C. Lions (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).

“I’m super-excited,” Hughes, 22, said with a smile on Friday. “It’s my first professional start and I couldn’t think of it in a better way.

“Everybody’s path is different. I just thank God and thank my family and friends back home (in Charleston) who support me.

“I just put my best foot forward every day … literally. No pun intended.”

No punt intended, either.

Hughes will concentrate on field goals, converts and kickoffs, whereas the Roughriders’ last American kicker — Eddie Johnson — doubled as the punter early in the 2011 season.

OK, OK … one could point out that another U.S.-born player (Ray Early) attempted a 64-yard field goal for the Roughriders against the visiting Calgary Stampeders on Aug. 22, 2015.

But that was a one-off — an end-of-the-half situation when the strong-legged Early briefly bumped the regular kicker, Tyler Crapigna, for a long-long-long distance, wind-aided attempt that was ultimately unsuccessful.

Before Johnson, the last American to handle the placekicking for Saskatchewan on a regular basis was Jack Abendschan.

The 2012 Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee spent a decade with the Green and White after signing with the team in 1965, principally as a guard. Kicking was a sidelight, albeit one at which he was proficient.

Not since 1955 have the Roughriders dressed an American whose primary responsibility was placekicking. That role was held in 1954 and 1955 by Joe (The Toe) Aguirre, although he did see spot duty as a receiver.

Aguirre — from Rock Springs, Wyoming — was Canadian professional football’s leading scorer in 1954 (85 points) and led the country in successful field goals (33) the following year. Aguirre also kicked a convert for Saskatchewan in 1953.

Aguirre aside, several Americans have moonlighted as a placekicker while concentrating on other positions — not recently, mind you.

The list includes Paul Kirk (1934 to 1937), Gabe Patterson (1947, 1948), Del Wardien (1949, 1952, 1953), Jack Hartman (1950), Red Ettinger (1951), Frank Tripucka (1956, 1963), Jack Hill (1958 to 1960) and Steve Myhra (1962).

Of the 49 players who have kicked at least one field goal for the Roughriders, 14 have emanated from the United States.

Johnson is the only player of that description since Abendschan kicked his final three-pointer, on Nov. 16, 1975.

Nearly a half-century later, Hughes is poised to step in for Brett Lauther. The Roughriders’ regular kicker since 2018, Lauther is nursing a back injury that also forced him to miss a game earlier this month.

The supportiveness of Lauther has helped Hughes prepare for a long-anticipated first taste of a pro football game.

“I’ll go out there and I’ll probably do a full 360,” he said. “I’ll take in the moment. Then I’ll take a deep breath and I’ll do my job, because that’s what I’m here to do.”

Hughes performed his duties extremely well at Appalachian State, where he played in 46 games over the past four seasons. He boasts the best field-goal accuracy rate (83.3 per cent) in school history. As well, he was 120-for-120 on converts for the Mountaineers.

In 2023, he was 19-for-22 (86.4%) on field goals, the longest of which was a 54-yard game winner.

A long wait is about to conclude for Hughes, who last attempted a field goal in a game on Nov. 30 against the host Georgia Southern Eagles.

With that in mind, he welcomed the opportunity to join the Roughriders.

“It has been a crazy four weeks,” he reflected. “I was in San Diego training on the West Coast, and I’m from the East Coast. I went back home for a day or two and worked out and kicked a little bit. Then I went to watch my former college team play.

“On the Sunday of that weekend, I got a call from my agent saying, ‘The Riders want to bring you up and work you out. They’re looking to bring a guy in for the rest of the year.’

“I told him I was interested. An hour later, I got a call. We booked a flight for the Monday morning. I drove four hours north (to get) back home, got about 3½ hours’ sleep, got on a plane and, three flights later, I was here.

“The next morning, I woke up and had the workout at 7 a.m. Around 8:30 or 9 o’clock, I was in team meetings. It was a very, very quick turnaround, but that’s the business side of the sport. That’s what you expect.

“I had to come and do my job that morning, so I came and did my job and now I’m here. Now it’s ‘do my job again’ tomorrow.”

How, Hughes was asked on Friday, was he able to fare so well during an early-morning workout not even a full day after being wedged into three airplane seats as a 6-foot-3 passenger?

“I was stretching in the airport, trying to stay loose in between flights and trying to eat correctly,” he replied. “You try to do the right things and put yourself in the best situation possible for when you go out there and do your job.

“It’s just like tonight. I’m going to go out, probably, and have a nice steak dinner. I’ll go back and I’ll probably get to bed around 10. I’ll have a normal day tomorrow and get ready for the game.”

Once the ball is kicked off, Hughes will become the 18th player to wear No. 71 in a regular-season game for the Roughriders.

One of the former 71s — the aforementioned Frank Tripucka, a legendary quarterback from Bloomfield, N.J. — kicked five career converts on behalf of Hughes’ new team.

SATURDAY SPECIFICS

Saskatchewan (12-5) has clinched first place overall in the CFL and hosting privileges for the Western Final (Nov. 8, 5:30 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).

B.C. is tied with Calgary (10-7) for second in the West Division.

Although Saturday’s game cannot influence the Roughriders’ playoff placing, the players are not looking beyond the looming regular-season finale.

“It’s a statement,” middle linebacker Jameer Thurman said. “We want to go out there and play the best ball we can and show the fans what to expect in the playoffs.”

Accordingly, Saskatchewan’s list of starters includes quarterback Trevor Harris, running back A.J. Ouellette, offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick and defensive tackle Micah Johnson — four veteran stars who were rested when the team played in Winnipeg a week ago.

“You want to go in and dominate games,” Harris said. “That’s what you do in this profession.

“I’ve talked a lot about playing our best football as the year winds down. Now it’s time to put up or shut up. We’d better be playing our best football.

“But B.C.’s no different. Every time you step on the field, no matter what, you always want to be dominant and execute well at a high level.”

TOUCHING ALL THE BASES

Game 2 of the World Series, between the Toronto Blue Jays and the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, is to begin on Saturday at 6 p.m., Saskatchewan time.

The Blue Jays-Dodgers game will be shown on TVs located throughout the concourse during the Roughriders-Lions contest.

Following the CFL game, fans are invited to remain at Mosaic Stadium and enjoy the conclusion of Blue Jays versus Dodgers on the NBA-court-sized SaskTel MaxTron.

The public has not been presented with such an opportunity since June 13, 2019, when the Roughriders opened the season against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

By the thousands, fans flocked to Mosaic Stadium to watch the Roughriders versus Tiger-Cats and Game 6 of the NBA final, between the Toronto Raptors and the host Golden State Warriors.

Toronto won 114-110 to clinch the franchise’s first title. The MaxTron, fittingly enough, is the same size as a basketball court.

In 2019, as in 2025, the Roughriders finished first in the West.