After waiting nearly a full calendar year to get back on the field, Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick sounds ready to leave everything else behind, including the Grey Cup.<\/p>\n
After waiting nearly a full calendar year to get back on the field, Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick sounds ready to leave everything else behind, including the Grey Cup.<\/p>\n
The veteran right tackle enters his fourth season in green and white, and his 12th CFL campaign with a long list of accomplishments behind him, including a CFL Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman award, another All-CFL selection and helping the Roughriders capture the 2025 Grey Cup. But as training camp turns into game week, Hardrick says none of that carries over.<\/p>\n
\u201cBody and mind\u2019s feeling great,\u201d Hardrick told The SportsCage. \u201cI\u2019m ready to get out there with my guys. Excited for another season, excited for another opportunity. Still playing a game I love. Love my teammates, love this city, love this province, love the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a player who missed most of 2024 with a season-ending quad injury before returning to become one of the league\u2019s most dominant offensive linemen in 2025, moving on from success has become easier with experience. Hardrick says championship celebrations don\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was young, it was probably a little harder,\u201d he explained. \u201cNow it\u2019s always next day up, next season. I hate to say it like this, but 2025 died. We have to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that mentality extends into life at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife talks about it all the time. We don\u2019t even bring up 2025. She always talks about the past, you\u2019re gonna get hit in the mouth by 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
The message inside the Roughriders locker room has been consistent: appreciate last season, but don\u2019t live in it.<\/p>\n
Head coach Corey Mace and the team\u2019s veteran leadership group have stressed staying present and focusing on what happens now.<\/p>\n
\u201c2026 is all that matters,\u201d Hardrick said. \u201cEverything that happened in 2025 isn\u2019t going to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean expectations change. Hardrick says that, championship or not, every opponent is bringing their best.<\/p>\n
\u201cI respect every player I play against. I lose sleep over every player I play against; some guys you lose a little bit more sleep over. Even if we didn\u2019t win last year, I always think there\u2019s a target. I try to play with a target on my back.\u201d<\/p>\n
After earning the CFL\u2019s top offensive line honour and helping anchor one of the league\u2019s best units, Hardrick\u2019s motivation this season isn\u2019t proving people wrong. It\u2019s improving.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust trying to be better than I was last year,\u201d he said. \u201cWatching all my lowlights from last year. Looking at all the little things. Not trying to put new tools in my toolbox, just trying to sharpen them.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mindset extends beyond football.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be a better leader, better husband, better dad. Just want to be better in everything I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hardrick says his competitive edge comes from years of fighting to stay in the game after being cut multiple times early in his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways wanted to be the best,\u201d he said. \u201cMy little cousins always talk about when we were younger, everyone hated coming over because we weren\u2019t going to run around outside. We were going to do jumping jacks and push-ups.\u201d<\/p>\n
That competitiveness apparently extends off the field, too.<\/p>\n
Last week, Hardrick won the Roughriders\u2019 team fishing trip after hauling in a massive 30-pound pike, the biggest catch on the team. His explanation? Nothing special.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fish was hungry,\u201d Hardrick laughed. \u201cIt\u2019s not called catching, it\u2019s called fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The moment meant more because his son was there to share it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son was there. He called for fish for a while. That\u2019s something I\u2019ll remember forever. I remember doing those things with my family and my grandma.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then came the strike.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt that thing go under the boat, and I said, \u2018We got something big here, buddy.\u2019 And there we are, 30 pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now the focus shifts back to football. Hardrick says familiarity and chemistry along the offensive line continue to grow and believes the entire organization shares the same approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re wired that way. We want to get better,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can feel it from the ticket office to the fourth floor to the media. Everyone\u2019s trying to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
For one of the CFL\u2019s most accomplished offensive linemen, the Grey Cup ring is already in the past.<\/p>\n
The next season and the next catch are waiting<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0
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