After arriving from Indianapolis Colts training camp, second-year pass-catcher aiming for big things upon return to line-up<\/p>\n
REGINA — Ajou Ajou is officially back home with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Brooks, Alta. native\u00a0returned to a football field on Canadian soil for the first time on Friday since being released by the National Football League\u2019s Indianapolis Colts,\u00a0it was nothing but smiles and positivity combined with excitement for what\u2019s to come. Ajou isn\u2019t likely to see action in the Labour Day Classic on Sunday, but\u00a0being back in Regina and getting ready to resume his CFL career was already a reward in itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a great day to be alive, man,\u201d Ajou said after going through some reps at practice on Friday. \u201cIt’s bittersweet, but I’m coming home to some fans and some people who love me —\u00a0I’m all for it, I’m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old\u00a0pass catcher broke into the league in style last season, catching 20 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns, including a single-game high of 110 yards against Winnipeg on July 20. That — combined with his six-foot-three, 218-pound frame — drew\u00a0interest from the NFL as\u00a0he\u2019d sign a futures deal with Indianapolis in January.<\/p>\n
That led to training camp\u00a0and\u00a0NFL preseason action in August,\u00a0Ajou made\u00a0four catches for 27 yards and then was\u00a0released. While that was the bittersweet moment described above, for eight months, Ajou was officially one of the best football players on the planet.<\/p>\n
\u201cDream come true,\u201d Ajou said. \u201cYou can go on Google and search how many people make it to the NFL, 0.1 percent\u00a0—\u00a0I got to be part of that 0.1 percent\u00a0for OTAs, rookie mini-camp, training camp. I look at it as a blessing in disguise, I learned a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ajou\u00a0hoped to crack the Colts practice roster at the very least, but eventually, the bad news came. He took it all in stride, though, and promptly began thinking about his football future — and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was\u00a0difficult hearing it, but\u00a0I knew I grew as a person when I\u00a0took it on the chin. How can I get better? What’s next?\u201d Ajou said. \u201cYou get knocked down one step back, but I’m trying to take three steps forward. End of the day, I’m a Rider.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked what it is about Saskatchewan that made him want to come back, Ajou was quick to respond \u201chome is where the heart is\u201d and\u00a0added\u00a0the people in the organization were a major part of his decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s the first team that took a chance on me,\u201d Ajou said. \u201cI feel like I owe this organization and this province so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ajou kept an eye on the Roughriders from afar and is more than aware of how well things have been going, but even he was surprised with the growth in some of his once-again teammates since he last saw them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve been keeping tabs on them, but coming back\u00a0seeing how much they’ve grown, how much KeeSean [Johnson] stepped up in the room and is finally being vocal, it’s\u00a0great to see,\u201d Ajou said. \u201cMy boy Dhel [Duncan-Busby]\u00a0telling me:\u00a0\u2018You got to be here on this play and do this on this play.\u2019\u00a0I’m like\u00a0OK\u00a0Dhel, you know your stuff. It’s nice to see him making plays out here\u2026 It’s nothing new, it’s routine for us, it’s been great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ajou hopes\u00a0breaking back into the Riders line-up will be a smooth process, especially with how he\u2019s evolved as a player since last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m healthy this season and it’s a mental aspect,\u201d he said. \u201cThe way I approach the game now, it’s completely different. My routine, the way I go about watching film, it’s different now. The way I apply myself and\u00a0trying to stay humble through it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
As such a young player,\u00a0Ajou\u00a0could\u00a0get another look at the NFL if things go as well as both he and the Roughriders hope in the future. Until then, though, it\u2019s all systems go in Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m 23 years old, I’m trying to do what I can, but I\u00a0got to be great where my feet are. Right now, I’m a Rider,\u201d he said. \u201cI play for the Roughriders. I’m\u00a0trying to be great for the organization and let’s keep stacking wins.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sold-out Labour Day Classic against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers is set for Sunday\u00a0with Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk and Wes Cates bringing you the pre-game show at 2 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder\u00a0have the call at 5 p.m. and you can catch all the action on the Riders Broadcast Network<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After arriving from Indianapolis Colts training camp, second-year pass-catcher aiming for big things upon return to line-up REGINA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109692,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-109691","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}