New team. New colour scheme.
“I’ve never been in green before, so this is the first time,” says receiver/returner James Letcher Jr., who signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Feb. 2.
“I’m excited to see what I can put together as far as accessories.”
He plans to provide some excitement in return.
Letcher Jr., whose explosiveness was evident over three seasons with the Montreal Alouettes, looks forward to being a multi-dimensional playmaker with his new CFL team.
“I would say everybody knows what I can do on special teams, and I’m not going to take that for granted, but I definitely want to implement myself more on the offensive side,” says Letcher Jr., who has discussed the possibilities with Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris.
“I feel like he’s thinking the same way. He knows how explosive I am on specials and he wants to implement that on offence. I do, too, so we’re already thinking about the same kind of things.
“Hopefully I can score on offence as much as I do on specials.”
In 30 CFL regular-season games, Letcher Jr. has scored on punt returns of 100 and 99 yards in addition to reaching the end zone on a 125-yard missed field goal return. His first CFL touchdown reception was registered last season.
His resume also includes a 105-yard kickoff-return TD that helped Montreal defeat the Toronto Argonauts 38-17 in the 2023 Eastern Final. Montreal went on to win the Grey Cup.
In nine games with the Alouettes last season, he averaged 11.0 yards per punt return and 25.1 yards per kickoff return.
As a starting receiver against the host Ottawa REDBLACKS on June 13, he caught four passes for 37 yards — including a 16-yard TD.
The versatility is well-established.
At Piper High School in Kansas City, Letcher was a first-team all-league selection as a running back, defensive back and kickoff returner following his senior season.
Next stop: Topeka, Kan., where he attended Washburn University and starred for the Ichabods.
As a senior in 2022, he caught 80 passes for 1,076 yards and scored 10 aerial TDs for the second year in a row. He also scored on two of his 11 punt returns, averaging 26.0 yards in that facet of the game.
The year before, Letcher Jr. took two kickoff returns to the house. His first collegiate kickoff-return TD, recorded in 2019, was a 100-yarder.
A three-time All-American at Washburn, he was named the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association’s top special teams player in 2021 and 2022.
He graduated from Washburn as the school’s all-time leader in receptions (228), all-purpose yards (5,623), and kickoff return touchdowns (three).
“I’ve been doing it my whole life,” Letcher Jr. said. “In high school, I played offence, defence and special teams. In college, I played offence and specials. Going to the CFL, I didn’t want to stop, so I’m glad Saskatchewan is going to give me more of an opportunity to do that.”
The 5-foot-7, 180-pounder is known for creating opportunities with his speed, which was an asset long before it became an attribute in tackle football.
“I kind of figured that out early,” Letcher Jr. said. “As a kid, whenever you would play tag or you were in a race with other kids, you’d tag somebody and they’d start chasing you. Then they’d stop chasing you because they couldn’t catch you. That’s when I realized, ‘I can definitely do a little more with this, outside of playing tag.’
“I’ve heard plenty of stories of me being bad as a kid. I used to get in trouble and I used to run away from the repercussions of me getting in trouble. I say it as a joke, but I’m so serious.
“It was to the point where parents were getting mad at me because they couldn’t catch me, and I was a little kid at the time. Most parents or most grown-ups can catch any kid they want to catch, but it’s hard to catch me when I’m running fast and I’m juking fast.
“I’m making them go one way and I’m running the other. I’m ducking under tables. I’m running under chairs. I’m finding a way to get out of there — and I have almost a 100-per-cent completion rate at that.”
With more completions to come.