Saskatchewan Roughriders' offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick did not expect his success in 2025 after last year when he suffered a season-ending injury.
"Almost doesn't feel real. All the work last year, a lot of my family, training staff, Greg [Mayer], my trainer back home, means a lot, but the coaches didn't do it alone," Hardrick said. "Not an individual award, it says individual award, I definitely haven't been perfect this year. Probably won't be perfect moving forward, but I'm working my hardest and I never plan to mess up."
Hardrick earned the Riders team nomination for the CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman award. He was the West Division finalist for the MOOL award in 2023 when he was with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The veteran's setback occurred last year when the Green and White were taking on the B.C. Lions in Week 6 as he suffered a quad injury, which ended his season after five games. The six-foot-four, 315-pound offensive lineman has suited up and started 16 games for Saskatchewan this year.
"Last year, when I got hurt, I tried to walk off the field, I couldn't walk off the field and I broke down. I was very emotional, and Greg told me, 'You're going to be back on the field next year.' I didn't believe it. Last year, we were going through a rehab part and I started crying, I ran out of the treatment room. Greg came and found me, said some good words to me and got me back in there," Hardrick recalled.
"I thank Greg all the time for that. But I had to learn how to walk again, how to squat again, and do all that. That was probably the hardest thing I've been through in a while. It was more mental than anything and I didn't do it alone."
When Hardrick was informed he had been nominated as the Green and White's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman, he made sure it was not a mistake.
"Oh, Logan [Ferland] didn't get it," Hardrick said. "My initial reaction was, I didn't think about it much, and I started thinking about it. I was like, 'Man, Logan’s from here. Let's go try to win this thing.' But when I first found out, the first thing I thought was Logan didn't get it, I was proud, but not satisfied. Happy that God voted for me."
Another Riders' offensive lineman earning recognition is Payton Collins, who was nominated as the team's Most Outstanding Rookie. Hardrick could not be more proud.
"I feel like the guys do look up to me because I've been in the league long enough and it means a lot. It makes me want to do things the right way. Definitely makes me think about what I say to them, how I move, and know they're watching every move I make — I want to be the best leader. These guys came before me to show me how to be a pro and I didn't know I'd be a pro earlier in my career. I hope I'm passing that towards Dan Clark, Brendon Labatte, Jovan OlaFioye, and Stanley Bryant. I had good vets to show me how to be a pro," Hardrick said.
"Jeff Keeping was the first centre I had who showed me how to be a pro. He made me a pro, and I'm forever grateful. I'm trying to be that veteran to show those guys. When I'm done, I hope they still run to the ball, I hope they're still here late, I hope they're passing it on to the next guy."
The Riders last regular season game comes against the B.C. Lions on Saturday at Mosaic Stadium. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk and Wes Cates bring you the pre-game show at 2 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 5 p.m. Listen to or watch our comprehensive coverage on the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
