Riders Ouellette sheds pounds in the offseason, gets faster

Scott Larson · CBC News

· Posted: May 13, 2025 5:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

A hep wounded constricted Saskatchewan Roughriders' A.J. Ouellette's playing clip to conscionable 8 games successful his archetypal twelvemonth with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

"It benignant of sucked due to the fact that it was my archetypal clip here, truthful I had to benignant of beryllium myself," Ouellette said Tuesday after Day 3 of the Riders' afloat grooming camp at Griffiths Stadium successful Saskatoon

"New team, caller coaching staff. You're conscionable trying to amusement that you are the idiosyncratic that everybody benignant of writes about, truthful you're trying to bash everything extra," helium said. "You're not truly protecting yourself retired there. This twelvemonth the coaches are doing a small spot amended astatine protecting maine truthful I don't person to."

Ouellette, who rushed for 550 yards successful 2024, has travel into this year's grooming campy astir 30 pounds lighter and with expectations of staying connected the field.

The value nonaccomplishment started erstwhile helium took portion successful a situation astatine the sports show installation helium owns backmost successful Piqua, Ohio.

"I was sitting successful a sauna and radical were talking astir not being capable to instrumentality to a diet oregon thing similar that," said Ouellette, who grew up conscionable down the roadworthy from Piqua successful the tiny municipality of Covington, Ohio.

"So we were like, everybody propulsion $100 in, let's spot who has the champion translation successful 2 months."

He came successful second, but besides noticed different transformation.

"After I got going, I realized I was getting a small spot faster, a small spot quicker connected my feet," helium said. "It's going to assistance retired with the game, support maine connected the tract longer, and hopefully present successful the Green and White for a fewer much years."

Riders violative co-ordinator Marc Mueller, who is besides successful his 2nd twelvemonth with the team, said Ouellette will play a large relation successful the offence.

He said Ouellette is awesome connected the tract with or without the shot successful his hands.

"He's large successful protections, he's large with helping people, he's large successful the huddle," Mueller said.

"He understands each 12 radical [on offence] and each the 12 radical connected defence arsenic well."

On Day 3 of grooming camp, the offence had a coagulated time successful scrimmages against the defence, yielding respective large plays.

That shouldn't beryllium excessively overmuch of a surprise, arsenic the offence has astir of its starters from past year.

Mueller, a erstwhile University of Saskatchewan quarterback, said everyone is connected the aforesaid leafage going into grooming camp.

"It's smoother," Mueller said. "We tin absorption on, maybe, the much insignificant details than conscionable what you're expected to bash connected a portion of paper.

"Hopefully we tin proceed to physique and proceed to enactment hard."

Head manager Corey Mace said Mueller lives and breathes football.

"He's a shot junkie," Mace said, adding Mueller lives 5 minutes distant from him and they've been perpetually talking.

"He's been doing thing but moving his process off."

Ouellette said having astir everyone backmost moving successful the strategy feels similar they are starting from wherever they near disconnected past year, adding his relation hasn't changed.

"Still beryllium the champion walk blocker I tin be, marque my productivity amended successful the tally game," helium said.

"We were looking astatine my stats from a fewer years agone to this past year, and we're conscionable trying to get backmost to immoderate aged numbers and just effort to triumph each game."

Rider notes

• A brace of players, violative lineman Julius Buelow and antiaircraft lineman Justin Jefferson, were sent to the locker country aboriginal aft coming to blows connected the field.
• Saskatchewan signed American violative lineman Yoesph Carter. The 6-foot-4, 295 lb Carter spent 2 seasons with the University of Findlay, a Division 2 schoolhouse successful Ohio.
• American antiaircraft backmost Mark Webb has been released and American receiver Ja'Marcus Bradley has been removed from the suspended list.
• Training campy continues each week astatine Griffiths Stadium successful Saskatoon.