It was a few hours before kickoff, and Erik Andersen was having a soak.
Make no mistake, he was getting ready for the night’s work. But the sit in the tub was meant to be more professional preparation than anything.
Andersen figured he serve as a backup offensive lineman against the Ottawa Redblacks, but that’s when he was told he was starting in place of Daniel Johnson, who’d fallen ill.
“Every day we’re trying to prepare ourselves regardless,” Andersen told Voice of the Roughriders Dave Thomas. “Then if your name’s called, you’re ready to go. I just try to do those things every day. Whenever you’re called, you’re ready.”
Andersen stepped in at left guard for Johnson – who only just replaced the injured Zach Fry for the previous game – against Ottawa and contributed to a 42-20 victory last Friday.
It was the CFL’s rookie’s first starting assignment and just his third appearance in game action this season.
“The week of (the game), I didn’t know that I was going to start the whole time. The day of the game when you find out, it’s just like another game,” Andersen said. “We just had fun with it. I’ve got (left tackle) Payton (Collins) and (centre) Logan (Ferland) on either side of me, which makes it a lot easier. I just tried to have fun and get better.”
Andersen and the rest of the offensive linemen were imperative to the Riders’ success against the Redblacks.
Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris was sacked just once, and Ottawa managed only one tackle for a loss. Harris threw for 401 yards and two touchdowns and running backs racked up 139 yards.
According to Riders historian Rob Vanstone, the team had at least 30 first downs in a game for the 32nd time in franchise history.
“I had fun out there,” Andersen said. “It was good to hit people again. But there’s a lot to work on. Just keep getting better every day.”
Andersen was selected 13th by the Riders in the 2025 CFL Draft. After attending Riders training camp, the 6-foot-6, 314-pound lineman returned to the Western University in his hometown of London, Ont. He wound up being named the top offensive lineman in Canadian university football in his last collegiate season.
“It was a while ago. I had a whole college season in between and then come back (here),” Andersen said. “It’s been a long time, but it’s good to finally get out there.”
The coaching staff wasn’t exactly sure what the 25-year-old Andersen was going to provide, given that it was his first CFL start, but there were only minor reservations.
“It’s one of those things where you get your number called and you’ve got to go out there and, if you haven’t had much experience, you pray to God that you’re mentally prepared and physically you can handle what their defence is throwing at us,” coach Corey Mace said. “He did a really good job.
“Certainly, someone we thought could be thrusted into a role like that. He’s been progressively getting better every day since training camp. I was really happy for him to go out there and get that experience, and he played really well.”
Johnson’s illness has kept him out of practice this week. That means Andersen could be making his second CFL start on Saturday in Hamilton, this time so close to home.
“It’d be cool. I’m sure lots of family would come down,” Andersen said. “It’s only an hour, an hour and a half. I’m sure they’d like to come out and see a game, so we’ll see.”
