Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Abdul Janneh Jr. redefined “meeting the media.”
Before being interviewed at Mosaic Stadium on Monday, he made a point of introducing himself to everyone in a scrum that consisted of reporters and camera operators.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, from top to bottom, I’m going to introduce myself and treat you with respect, because everyone deserves that,” the 23-year-old son of Abdul and Claudia Janneh said.
“That’s from my mom. She’s definitely my hero. She’s in her mid-60s and she’s still working two jobs. Seeing her hard work and how, no matter what, she’s around people and how she treats people, I take that with me.”
Janneh Jr. has also introduced himself to the Roughriders’ fan base in fine style.
On Saturday, for example, he caught six passes for 107 yards to help Saskatchewan post a 31-27 CFL pre-season victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon.
His 39-yard reception ignited a seven-play, 99-yard, game-winning touchdown drive that concluded with 42.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Over two pre-season games, he caught nine passes — tying him with Mathew Sexton for the Club lead — for a team-best 151 yards.
“He’s an outstanding kid and tough as nails,” Head Coach Corey Mace said of Janneh Jr. “Whenever his number was called, he showed up and he made big plays for us and moved the chains and got us out of backed-up positions.
“He has been very reliable. Regardless of his circumstances, he just pushes through things. With him being here last year as well for training camp, it was a little bit easier for him to settle into the playbook, and you can tell.”
The 6-foot-2, 197-pounder played collegiately at Duquesne and Georgia Tech before signing with Saskatchewan on May 21, 2025 — only three days before last year’s first pre-season game.
He caught three passes for 36 yards over two pre-season contests before being released.
The Roughriders wanted another look — a longer look — and therefore re-signed him to a futures deal on Oct. 29.
“I was just really excited to get back up here,” Janneh Jr. said. “I knew I needed to come in with the right mindset, like I’ve been doing my whole life, and put my best foot forward.”
That mindset helped Janneh Jr. excel in football, basketball and track at New Oxford Senior High School in Pennsylvania. Newspaper accounts of his basketball games routinely refer to “highlight-reel dunks.”
“We liked to put on a show down there in high school,” Janneh Jr. said with a smile.
“Basketball was always my main sport. That’s what I thought I was going to continue to do. Then my first school, Duquesne, came in very, very late in the recruiting process.”
The Duquesne Dukes’ coaching staff was intrigued by an elite athlete who caught 57 passes for 1,071 yards and 14 TDs as a senior in high school.
“I just took a chance,” Janneh Jr. continued. “They were taking a chance on me, and I believe in myself, so I decided I was going to stick with football.
“It ended up working out, being here.”
CAMP CONTINUES
Although the pre-season has concluded, Coors Light Training Camp continues through Friday at Mosaic Stadium.
“For the guys, it’s crucial,” Mace said. “They know they’ve still got to be out here and get those reps in. The reality is that this is a job interview.”
Final cuts must be made by Sunday, so the coaches have plenty of decisions to make in short order.
“We’re going to have some hard ones,” Mace said. “We’ve still got another week of evaluation, obviously, but that’s what you want. You want guys to shine. We definitely thought we had more than a few guys do that.
“We’ll leverage the weight of those two (pre-season) games and the full body of work throughout camp to make those decisions.”
After Friday’s practice, the Roughriders will begin a bye week. Their first game will take place on June 13 — during Week 2 of the regular season — against the B.C. Lions. The pre-game festivities at Mosaic Stadium will include the unveiling of the Roughriders’ 2025 Grey Cup championship banner.
Tickets for the regular-season opener are AVAILABLE HERE.
THE ROAD TO REGINA
Quarterback Trevor Harris routinely makes road trips to and from Saskatchewan with running back A.J. Ouellette, who is also from Ohio.
There was a departure from tradition when Harris hit the highway on Sunday, driving from Saskatoon — where most of training camp was held — to Regina alongside receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker.
“Schaff and I have gotten very, very close this off-season,” Harris said. “He and (receiver Samuel Emilus) came out to my house for four days this off-season and spent time with my family.
“I said, ‘If you guys are going to come out here, you’re going to eat like me,’ so I made them all the meals that I usually eat. We had a ton of fun together.
“On the drive here, it was good to reflect on the first part of camp. You evaluate yourself. I came here (to Mosaic Stadium) to watch some film.
“You come back home and kind of breathe a sigh of relief that we’re back here. There’s something magical about this place. I love this place. I’m just very, very thankful every day to come here and be the quarterback here.”