{"id":184036,"date":"2025-10-02T02:45:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T02:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/184036\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T02:45:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T02:45:09","slug":"thomas-bertrand-hudon-cant-wait-to-return-to-roughriders-lineup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/184036\/","title":{"rendered":"Thomas Bertrand-Hudon can\u2019t wait to return to Roughriders\u2019 lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThomas the Train\u201d didn\u2019t need any time to get untracked.<\/p>\n<p>Running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon enjoyed an impressive start to the 2025 CFL season before suffering a leg injury that has sidelined him for the Saskatchewan Roughriders\u2019 past 11 games.<\/p>\n<p>He resumed practising last week and could return to game duty as soon as Friday, when the Roughriders visit the Ottawa REDBLACKS (5:30 p.m., CKRM, TSN).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels amazing coming out here and competing with those guys,\u201d he said after Thursday\u2019s practice at Mosaic Stadium. \u201cThey\u2019ve done great, even when I wasn\u2019t in there, so I\u2019m just very happy that I can add to what they\u2019ve done for the entire year so far.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the Roughriders faced Ottawa to open the regular season on June 5, Bertrand-Hudon rushed 14 times for 57 yards and one touchdown in a 31-26 Saskatchewan win. He added two receptions for 17 yards and another major.<\/p>\n<p>He had five carries for 39 yards over the following two games, averaging 7.8 yards per rush over that span while the \u201cThomas the Train\u201d label gained steam.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just happy that people catch on to it, I guess,\u201d he said with a smile, \u201cbut as long as I get to perform and just help this team, the sirens and whatnot are all just bells and whistles at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Roughriders have set off fireworks for most of the season, as evidenced by a league-best 10-4 record. As much as Bertrand-Hudon appreciates the success of his teammates, sitting out 11 games was, by his description, annoying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a tough battle,\u201d he said of the recuperation process. \u201cA lot of it was mental, especially because I had to work on (the leg) and keep pushing it and not think about the injury.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow that the mental (aspect) is here, I\u2019m very happy that I get to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bertrand-Hudon was listed as available on Thursday\u2019s injury report, but the final roster decisions will not be announced until Friday morning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was out here last week and unfortunately couldn\u2019t go,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.riderville.com\/2025\/10\/01\/corey-mace-october-1st-2\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Roughriders Head Coach Corey Mace said<\/a>. \u201cHaving him out here again this week and seeing how he has gotten through the week of practice, if it does end up that he\u2019s ready to go, having him out there certainly helps us in a multitude of ways.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis average yards per carry is up there and there\u2019s certainly what he does for us on special teams as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a really good player. When he\u2019s healthy, we\u2019re excited.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>LIFE IS GRAND<\/p>\n<p>KeeSean Johnson is once again part of the 1,000-yard club.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson, who reached the milestone in each of his final two seasons at Fresno State, hit four digits for the first time in the pro ranks on Saturday when the Roughriders opposed the Elks in Edmonton.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt definitely feels good,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s an accomplishment that all receivers want to hit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s something I was able to do, but my main goal when I came here was to win games and get to the last game of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Entering Friday\u2019s contest, Johnson is third in the CFL in catches (78) and receiving yards (1,088) with four regular-season games remaining.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson has operated at a 1,000-yard pace since joining the Roughriders.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, he had 56 catches for 746 yards in 12 games. Those totals, extrapolated over a full 18-game season, work out to 84 catches and 1,119 yards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased off his college tape and even his NFL tape, you saw his skill set and his potential,\u201d Mace said. \u201cWe were really excited to get him here.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe knew we had a special player.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So did Fresno State, where Johnson eclipsed several team records that had been set by NFL star Davonte Adams.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson had 77 catches for 1,013 yards as a junior before registering 95 receptions for 1,340 yards as a graduating player. He went on to play in 18 NFL games, all with the Arizona Cardinals, before signing with Saskatchewan on Feb. 28, 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson was one of two Roughriders to join the 1,000-yard club last weekend in Edmonton. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.riderville.com\/2025\/10\/01\/a-j-ouellette-october-1st\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">A.J. Ouellette<\/a> reached 1,000 rushing yards for the second time in his career.<\/p>\n<p>Dohnte Meyers is 102 receiving yards shy of giving the Roughriders three 1,000-yard performers for the first time since 2017 \u2014\u00a0when Duron Carter (1,043), Naaman Roosevelt (1,035) and Bakari Grant (1,033) each reached the milestone through the air.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always tell those guys throughout the year, \u2018Don\u2019t worry about your numbers. Let me worry about them,\u2019 \u201d quarterback Trevor Harris said. \u201cI kind of know my receivers\u2019 numbers better than they do. I know how close Dohnte is and we want to get him there and he will get there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing gives me, as a quarterback, more happiness than to see A.J. get a lot of rushing yards and to see KeeSean hit that milestone. Hopefully we can get Dohnte there pretty quick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>HONOUR ROLL<\/p>\n<p>The Roughriders had the CFL\u2019s top-graded offensive line in September, according to Pro Football Focus, and have thus been recognized once more on PFF\u2019s monthly Honour Roll.<\/p>\n<p>Saskatchewan had a unit grade of 77.0. Individually, the top grades went to right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick (81.3), right guard Jacob Brammer (76.3) and centre Logan Ferland (73.9).<\/p>\n<p>Saskatchewan also had PFF\u2019s top-ranked offensive line in June.<\/p>\n<p>EXTRA POINTS<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Along with Bertrand-Hudon, the following players are listed as available for Friday: Returner Mario Alford (who has been battling a hip injury), cornerback Marcus Sayles (knee), receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker (foot), linebacker Melique Straker (leg) and quarterback Jack Coan (hand).<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Cornerback Tevaughn Campbell (head) will miss his third consecutive game. Kicker Brett Lauther (back) is also listed as out, clearing the way for Campbell Fair to make his CFL debut. As well, a knee injury will sideline short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens for the game in Ottawa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThomas the Train\u201d didn\u2019t need any time to get untracked. Running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon enjoyed an impressive start&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-184036","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\/184036","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=184036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}