Hardrick certain hard lessons will help Roughriders

11/12/2024 12:13 PM

Jermarcus Hardrick, an immense presence as a player and a personality, wants to help the Saskatchewan Roughriders take giant steps.

"I'm going to put my best foot forward this off-season and, coming back next year, I'll be 27 years old," the 6-foot-5, 317-pound offensive tackle said. "I can't wait."

The jocular Hardrick, who is actually 34, approaches every game — every practice — with the enthusiasm of a rookie.

Consider his effusive response when he was asked: What gets you excited?

"Logan Ferland!" Hardrick said of the CFL West Division's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman.

"Getting to build with Logan and all the other guys.

"Logan and I have been around each other for six months. We kind of know how each other thinks. We know how to push each other.

"I just think me and him can lead the O-line room. We know each other a little bit better. We can yin and yang off each other a little bit more and push each other.

"I can hold him to a higher standard and he can hold me to a higher standard. It's only going to make everyone around us better.

"For us to win this thing, it's going to have to come behind the O-line."

Right out of the blocks, so to speak.

Sidelined by a quad injury since July 13, Hardrick said he was a couple of weeks away from being able to return to the field when the 2024 season concluded.

By the time training camp begins next spring, there shouldn't be a worry.

"I'm going to give Rider Nation everything I've got," he stated. "It's 'go' time as soon as I put my feet down.

"I'm being smart. I know I've got to be ready in May. But, yes, it's 'go' time."

Next year, a decade will have elapsed since Hardrick first donned green and white.

He played in eight games with the Roughriders in 2015 before moving to Winnipeg and spending seven seasons with the Blue Bombers.

Over that time, he was an All-CFL divisional selection in 2017, 2021 and 2023. He was a league all-star in the latter two years.

After a 2023 season in which he was named the West's top offensive lineman, he signed with Saskatchewan as a high-priority free agent in February.

The Roughriders went on to win all four games he started and finished.

Overall, he was among 12 offensive linemen who started for Saskatchewan in 2024.

Overcoming a torrent of injuries, the Roughriders placed second in the West and posted a 28-19 home-field playoff victory over the B.C. Lions.

Then came a 38-22 loss to Winnipeg in Saturday's Western Final.

By capturing a fifth consecutive division title, the Blue Bombers advanced to Sunday's Grey Cup Game against the Toronto Argonauts.

Before becoming a perennial Grey Cup participant, though, the Blue Bombers found themselves in situations that are comparable to what the Roughriders are currently experiencing.

Winnipeg registered double-digit victory totals in 2016, 2017 and 2018, only to be eliminated in a Semi-Final in back-to-back years before lamenting a loss in a division championship game.

"When I was there, we went through some tough times," Hardrick said. "We had to learn how to grow. We had to learn how to win. We just kept building.

"I can feel it over here. I swear I can feel it. I thought we were going to do it this year. I know how it feels, I know how it smells and I know how it looks. And it was all in there.

"Now it's about making our recipe the best way we can."

It won't hurt, in the long run, to use Saturday's game in Winnipeg as fuel.

"I've been at the last six West Finals," Hardrick noted. "It was tough to watch that one. It was my first time on the sideline.

"I understand the green. I was on the away sideline and heard the chirping and felt it.

"Oh, man … I want to beat that team."