It remains unclear if veteran running back A.J. Ouellette will start for the Saskatchewan Roughriders this week after sitting out the team’s last six games with a hip injury.
“We’ll see,” head coach Corey Mace told the media in Regina. “He’s banked a couple weeks (of practice) now but we still have Frankie (Hickson) and [Ryquell Armstead] is out there practicing, so we’ll see how it goes by the end of the week.”
The thunderous ball-carrier has suited up for only seven games since becoming the CFL’s second-highest-paid running back this past off-season. He’s carried the ball 114 times for 466 yards and three touchdowns with his 4.1-yard average being the lowest in the league among running backs with over 50 carries. He’s also caught 14 passes for 140 yards.
The two-time East Division all-star was a full participant in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday and appears to be ready to go health-wise. He was impressed by how teammates Hickson, Armstead, and Thomas Bertrand-Hudon fared in his absence.
“(In practice this week) I felt good, I felt smooth, I felt like I never left,” said Ouellette. “We’ve got dogs (in our backfield) that can start anywhere. It sucks that there’s only one running back on the field at a time. To me, it’s the best position in football, so there should be like 1,000 of us out there, but it is what it is. It doesn’t matter who’s out there — they’re gonna get the job done.”
Armstead became an overnight sensation in Riderville after his 207-yard performance against the Calgary Stampeders on Sept. 21. Including his tenure with the Ottawa Redblacks earlier this season, the former NFLer has rushed for 862 yards and three touchdowns on the year, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Hickson has rushed for 438 yards and one score this season, averaging 4.8 yards per attempt.
As a team, the Riders rank sixth league-wide with 90.1 rushing yards per game and ninth with an average of 4.7 yards per rush. The team’s offensive line has been strongly affected by injuries all season long, though Zack Fry and Peter Godber appear ready to return to the lineup in the relatively near future.
Saskatchewan (8-7-1) will host the B.C. Lions (8-8) on Saturday, Oct. 12 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The team would clinch a home playoff game with a win.
