{"id":726398,"date":"2026-06-10T01:10:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T01:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/726398\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T01:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T01:10:09","slug":"hardrick-ouellette-set-sights-even-higher-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/726398\/","title":{"rendered":"Hardrick, Ouellette set sights even higher in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jermarcus Hardrick and A.J. Ouellette<\/a> both enjoyed standout seasons while helping the Saskatchewan Roughriders win a Grey Cup championship in 2025.<\/p>\n

That is all well and good \u2014 historic, in fact \u2014 but neither player is even remotely satisfied.<\/p>\n

\u201cI left a lot of plays out there, predetermining where I think the play\u2019s going to hit rather than letting it develop and all that,\u201d Ouellette said after the Roughriders practised on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Ouellette posted the league\u2019s second-best rushing-yardage total (1,222) last season. Even so, he felt the ceiling was much higher.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf our O-line has anyone else but me, it\u2019s probably 1,500, 1,800, 2,000,\u201d he said, breaking into a laugh. \u201cSo that\u2019s my goal \u2014 to hopefully get them what their blocking is worth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hardrick\u2019s blocking was such that he was named the CFL\u2019s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman last season. He, too, isn\u2019t ready to rest on his laurels.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to be better than I was last year, just watching all my lowlights from last year and seeing all the plays I want back,\u201d the 6-foot-4, 315-pound right tackle said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not trying to put new tools in my toolbox. I\u2019m just trying to sharpen mine, trying to be the best I can be.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s definitely plays I want back. There\u2019s definitely ways I want to be a better leader, a better husband, a better dad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to be better in everything I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bar is already set very high, considering how everything unfolded for Ouellette, Hardrick and the entire team last season. But exhaustive film study has led both players to conclude that they have much more to offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the tape, it\u2019s just being honest,\u201d Hardrick said. \u201cA.J. is wired that way. I\u2019m wired that way. We just have to get better. We want to get better. It\u2019s a \u2018want-to,\u2019 and that\u2019s what I love about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt comes from the top down. Every day, you can feel it from the ticket office, from the people on the fourth floor (in the business office), from the media.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s just trying to get better and finding different ways we can be better as teammates and players. How can we do appearances better? How can we do everything better? We just feel it from the top of the organization on down.\u201d<\/p>\n

The organization will celebrate its fifth Grey Cup championship with a banner unveiling that is to precede Saturday\u2019s regular-season opener against the B.C. Lions. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m., at Mosaic Stadium. (Tickets are AVAILABLE HERE<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ready to get out there with my guys,\u201d Hardrick said. \u201cI\u2019m excited for the season. I\u2019m excited for the opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still playing the game I love. I love my teammates. I love this city. I love this province. I love the fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t be perfect, but I\u2019m excited to give them everything I\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jermarcus Hardrick and A.J. Ouellette both enjoyed standout seasons while helping the Saskatchewan Roughriders win a Grey Cup…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":726399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-726398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726398","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=726398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/726399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=726398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=726398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=726398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}