REGINA — With the way things had gone all season for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and their offensive line, it stood to reason that when the Canadian Football League announced Division All-CFL honours, the big guys up front would be well represented.
As it turns out, that’s exactly the case.
The Riders saw three players on the o-line receive West Division all-star honours, including right guard Jacob Brammer, who cracked the list for the first time in his second season in the Green and White.
While fellow award winners Logan Ferland and Jermarcus Hardrick — who would later be named the West’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman — were almost shoe-ins as picks, Brammer was a bit of a surprise, especially given his status as an unknown quantity heading into the 2025 season. But when you develop as much as the 26-year-old Richmond, Texas product has over the past five months, well, people take notice.
“It means a lot,” Brammer said when asked about the honour. “It was a big surprise to me when I saw it, I never expected it, but a really good surprise to have. I’m excited about it, but work’s not done.”
A six-foot-four, 301-pound Vanderbilt graduate, Brammer came into the 2025 campaign — his second in the CFL — with seven total games under his belt, including five in the 2024 regular season and two in the playoffs.
Brammer spent the first game of the new campaign on the one-game injured list, but when he returned for Week 2 immediately slotted in at his right guard position and hasn’t moved since. That includes starts in 17 of the Roughriders’ 18 regular season games and status as one of the few Riders o-linemen to avoid missing more than one game due to injury.
His presence helped Saskatchewan finish tied for second in the CFL with 26 sacks allowed while also creating plenty of space for the league’s second-leading rusher A.J. Ouellette to do his thing. Not a bad turn of events for a guy who wasn’t even certain which position he’d be playing when he first arrived in the CFL.
“It was a big step. Never thought I’d be playing guard when I came up here,” Brammer said. “I was told that Americans typically play tackle, but any spot I could find on the field, I was going to take. I tried to take it and run with it.”
Even heading into this season, Brammer expected to play more as a tackle and on the left side of the line. But when it became apparent things were going to be shuffling around as players jockeyed for position, it was time to go with the flow.
“Coming into camp, it was kind of like a crapshoot with whoever was going to take whatever spot,” he explained. “We all came in with the mindset of whatever the best lineup is, that’s what we’re going to roll with.”
While he settled in as a starter, it certainly didn’t hurt to have the likes of Ferland and Hardrick in the huddle helping get used to things and offer whatever assistance they could. Seeing both veterans join him on the all-star team certainly didn’t come as a surprise given their impact all season.
“I’ve learned a lot from them,” Brammer said. “Showing up to work every day, seeing the hard work that they put in, trying to take a page out of their book every day and try to do what they do.”
That dedication extends into the offensive line room and their dedication to pull in the right direction no matter who is on the field — something that was evidenced more than once this season as Saskatchewan dealt with their early-season spate of injuries.
“It’s really the whole line, the guys who don’t play, too,” Brammer said. “They show up every day, they help us, they do their scouting reports every week and tell us what they’re seeing. It’s not just us three working or whatever, it’s everyone included.”
Now, the focus turns to the biggest game of the season thus far. The Riders have a bye this week and on Saturday, Nov. 8 will face either the Calgary Stampeders or B.C. Lions in the West Final at Mosaic Stadium, with a spot in the Grey Cup on the line. Starting in such a high-pressure environment will be new for Brammer, and he’s doing what he can to get that little bit of extra preparation in order to be as ready as possible.
“Everyone’s been in these positions, so I’m trying to pick their brains, see what they do, what they’ve done in this part of the season to keep it going and see how we can finish this thing out right,” Brammer said.
The Rider Broadcast Network will have the West Semi-Final on Saturday. You can catch the pre-game action beginning at 12 p.m. with Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk, Wes Cates and Dave Thomas, followed by kick-off at 3:30 p.m.