the B.C. Lions, who are to provide the opposition on Saturday (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).<\/a><\/p>\nSaskatchewan had a 4-0 record in games Hardrick started and finished last year. He was as advertised after signing with the Roughriders as a high-profile free agent on Feb. 13, 2024.<\/p>\n
The previous November, as a seventh-year member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, he had been named the West Division\u2019s top offensive lineman.<\/p>\n
This time around, Hardrick is up against Stanley Bryant (Winnipeg), Jarell Broxton (B.C.), David Beard (Edmonton Elks) and Zack Williams (Calgary Stampeders) for West honours.<\/p>\n
Brandon Revenberg (Hamilton Tiger-Cats), Peter Nicastro (Toronto Argonauts), Dino Boyd (Ottawa REDBLACKS) and Justin Lawrence (Montreal Alouettes) are the East Division nominees.<\/p>\n
Hardrick has to be considered one of the front-runners for the league award after helping the Roughriders go 12-4 in the 16 games he has started.<\/p>\n
Following seven of those contests, Saskatchewan\u2019s offensive line received the highest rating of the week from Pro Football Focus. Hardrick had the highest player grade among his offensive line cohorts in each of those seven games.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoshi doesn\u2019t need an introduction to this league and he\u2019s not one who wants pats on the back, but I made sure I went up and congratulated him,\u201d said quarterback Trevor Harris, who was recognized on Wednesday as the Roughriders\u2019 Most Outstanding Player.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith what he went through with his leg and fighting back \u2014\u00a0not only getting back and being able to play, but to play at the level he\u2019s been at \u2014\u00a0he\u2019s been awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not to mention humble.<\/p>\n
His first reaction to the news he had won the award: \u201cLogan didn\u2019t get it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Roughriders centre Logan Ferland, who has enjoyed another superlative season, was the West\u2019s top offensive lineman a year ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in this place before and I\u2019m proud, but not satisfied,\u201d Hardrick said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a great group.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hardrick is one of the key players who shapes the collective mindset. More than a decade into professional football, the 6-foot-4, 315-pound genial giant carries himself with the enthusiasm of a wide-eyed rookie.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s one thing I hope never leaves,\u201d he said. \u201cMy wife said I need to grow up. I\u2019m always excited and running around.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sometimes not the best person to celebrate with. I\u2019ve tackled a couple of guys. I\u2019ve put a couple of guys in a headlock. When 30,000 people in the crowd are going crazy, I\u2019ve got to hit something.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the game. I think that\u2019s one of the things that\u2019s going to keep me playing until somebody tells me to go home. I love the game and I\u2019m always running around.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got it taken away from me last year. I thought I really loved it but seeing people last year and not being able to be a part of it, I said, \u2018When I do go back, I don\u2019t know how the product\u2019s going to look, but I\u2019m going to have the most fun I\u2019ve ever had.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Which is saying something, considering Hardrick\u2019s lifelong love affair with a sport that is his passion as well as his vocation.<\/p>\n
\u201cFootball exposed me to the world,\u201d reflected the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers grad, who hails from Batesville, Miss.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gave me a chance to see North America and see Canada. It gave me a chance to get out of my small town and go to New Orleans, Nebraska, Tampa. I\u2019ve been in Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m from a town of 400 and I think we\u2019ve got a Greyhound bus now. Now I\u2019m in Regina and football has given me that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to get in trouble in the seventh and eighth grade for chasing a ball, because they were waiting for me to get back to the huddle. I\u2019m 35 years old and I still do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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