WINNIPEG \u2014 Saskatchewan Roughriders running back A.J. Ouellette is nicknamed \u2018Thor\u2019 in part because he wields a hammer associated with Norse god of thunder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hammer is here, yes, it\u2019s in the locker room,\u201d Ouellette said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
And yes, there is a good possibility that he will be carrying it onto the field when the Riders take on the Montreal Alouettes in Sunday\u2019s Grey Cup final.<\/p>\n
It seems to be a fitting nickname since Ouellette thundered for 1,222 yards on 248 carries \u2013 second in the CFL — and eight touchdowns in the regular season.<\/p>\n
But Ouellette does not need a hammer to intimidate opponents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know people say it\u2019s kinda scary when I\u2019m pacing back and forth on the sideline,\u201d he said. \u201cThe fans that are behind our bench say it\u2019s scary, but they appreciate it because it\u2019s needed, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ouellette rushed for an impressive 113 yards on 17 carries when the Riders beat the B.C. Lions in the West Final. He will be the key to Saskatchewan\u2019s offensive game plan on Sunday, whether the weather\u2019s good or bad.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he\u2019s got the ball in his hands, we like our odds,\u201d said Roughriders head coach Corey Mace.<\/p>\n
Ouelette, 30, credited his success to an offensive line that boasts three CFL all-stars.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the best I\u2019ve played with, right?\u201d said the former Toronto Argonaut. \u201cA physical group that loves the game, even the Xs and Os part of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jermarcus Hardrick, a most outstanding offensive lineman nominee, appreciates Ouellette\u2019s run-blocking ability.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe helps a ton,\u201d Hardrick said. \u201cHe can run the ball. I\u2019ve been beat and I look AJ in the eyes and he\u2019s got my guy. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt hasn\u2019t been a one-man show.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Alouettes are well aware that they will need to stuff the run on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust play assignment-sound football. Just do your part,\u201d said Montreal linebacker Darnell Sankey. \u201cEverybody wants to make a play, but I think towards the tail end of the season and especially this last game, we just made sure that we did our job and don\u2019t try to do too much and don\u2019t try to take on too much, don\u2019t take on a role that you don\u2019t need to take on because somebody else already has that role.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf everybody collectively has that role, and if everybody collectively believes in the division of the defence and how it\u2019s designed, then everybody\u2019s going to eat and everybody\u2019s going to make their play when it\u2019s time to make their play.\u201d<\/p>\n
After missing about half of last season due to injuries, Ouellette decided to lose some weight at the suggestion of running backs coach Andrew Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew might have called me fat,\u201d joked the American. \u201cI wanted to lose a little bit of weight and then the other coaches at the gym back home were talking about losing weight. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe made it a competition \u2013 a two-month thing to see who could have the biggest transformation. I dropped 25 pounds in two months and put a couple more pounds on for training camp because I didn\u2019t want to be the little guy out there getting thrown around.\u201d<\/p>\n
That has made it easier for the five-foot-eight, 208-pounder to sometimes leap over would-be tacklers this year.<\/p>\n
Ouellette was readily accepted by the Riders faithful, possibly because they can relate to his style of play.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not too flashy,\u201d he said. \u201cI do smack-talk, but I don\u2019t let that be what people see. <\/p>\n
\u201cNot going to be loud, just physical, do my job and I\u2019m sure they appreciate the things they are not seeing \u2013 like the pass protection, the knowledge of the game and then, never quit, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Regina also reminds Ouellette of his country roots.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt kind of feels like home, right?\u201d said the native of Covington, Ohio. \u201cWe traded corn fields for wheat fields there. Just blue-collar guys that work hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up in a small town and I get that feel there in Regina, which has a small-town feel, and everyone is pretty similar to my uncle. It just feels like everyone\u2019s an uncle out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ouellette would love to win the Grey Cup for those diehard fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey deserve it,\u201d he said. \u201cHard-working group that deserves to have a parade and a six-month party.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2025.<\/p>\n
Jim Bender, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WINNIPEG \u2014 Saskatchewan Roughriders running back A.J. Ouellette is nicknamed \u2018Thor\u2019 in part because he wields a hammer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-280641","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\/280641","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=280641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}