It was just a few days into the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 2026 training camp, and discipline had already emerged as a central theme.
Head coach Corey Mace talked about it. Newly-minted defensive coordinator Josh Bell did too. Eleven-year Roughriders quarterback and 2013 Grey Cup champion Darian Durant weighed in … you get the idea.
The message seemed to have come through loud and clear after a scrum-free start to camp at Saskatoon’s Griffiths Stadium, even after the Riders put on pads for the first time this preseason on May 12.
Even Mace may have been pleasantly surprised after telling reporters at the end of the team’s May 11 practice regarding the following day’s festivities: “You’re gonna want to be here.”
One player he shouldn’t have to worry about in that regard is sixth-year offensive lineman and presumed starting centre Logan Ferland.
The Melfort product has now gone 35 consecutive regular season games without taking a penalty and was named last fall as the Canadian Football League’s most sportsmanlike player when he was bestowed the Jake Gaudaur Veterans’ Award.
Ferland’s last penalty in regular season play came in the Riders’ 2024 season opener against the Edmonton Elks when he was ejected for rough play.
Since then, Ferland’s been flagged just once in a game that counted for something – albeit in the biggest game of his career – when he was penalized 10 yards for holding the second quarter of the 112th Grey Cup game in November.
“It was such a big game, I really just tried to shake it off more than I could explain,” said Ferland. “There was a part of me that thought about it like ‘Damn, I was this close to having a full season without one again’ but it is what it is.”
The secret to playing such a clean game? As Ferland sees it, it’s part mechanics, part mindset and part luck.
"There’s things the ref doesn’t see that maybe we (should) get called on. We see it all the time on film. Hey sometimes they miss a holding call where we should have had one. So there’s a bit of luck involved,” said Ferland.
“But also if you’re staying technically sound and keeping within your fundamentals we teach on the field, you should be fine out there. And as long as you’re also keeping a calm head and not getting too hot and keeping your emotions under wrap then you should fine.”
Saskatchewan opens the regular season June 13 at home against the B.C. Lions.
