Roughrider Jermarcus Hardrick is a role model on and off the field

Jermarcus Hardrick is one of the biggest players both on and off the field for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The 6’4″, 315-pound offensive lineman is regarded as one of the CFL’s best players at his position and is known for a personality that inspires teammates and fans.

Sometimes that includes taking his teammates and throwing them over his shoulder in celebration like he did to quarterback Jake Maier after he threw a touchdown pass in the team’s 37-18 win over the B.C. Lions.

“Hardrick is one of one in terms of teammates. I didn’t know how long I was going to be carried there, and it was not planned. As surprised as you guys might be, I was also very surprised but I loved it,” Maier said.

So who helped Hardrick become the man he is now? A lot of the credit goes to his mom, Delores.

“She was my mom and my dad. She was the rock for sure. She was definitely hard on me, but she loved me harder,” Hardrick said. “I’ve seen her cry a lot of times and I have seen the lights off and seen her light candles, but I always saw food on the table and always had clothes on my back. She showed me how to work without even talking. She didn’t do a lot of talking or show a lot of love with her words, but showed a lot of love and a lot of hard work.

“I saw her go to two or three jobs a day. Sometimes when I look at the stats of where we grew up, they say we were poor but I didn’t feel that. I had a great childhood.”

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Hardrick is from a small town in Mississippi. After playing football in high school, his college career started, where he eventually transferred to Nebraska to play with the Cornhuskers.

“Going to Nebraska was one of the best things that happened to me. It was different from where I grew up. I grew up in a small town and I won’t say it’s racial, but people stayed on their side and we stayed on our side,” Hardrick said. “I got to Nebraska and it was like I was a person, I wasn’t a colour. They showed me how to work hard, they exposed me to way more than the trailer park lifestyle.

“I’m forever grateful and I still live there.”

That’s also a message he shares with his kids.

“I tell my son all the time we aren’t a colour, just a person. He’s just a little man right now, not a colour,” Hardrick said.

Prior to coming to the CFL, Hardrick spent some time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints in the NFL and also the Utah Blaze in the Arena Football League.

In 2014, he joined the B.C. Lions before spending 2015 with the Riders.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offensive line will try to help the team win the Grey Cup in 2025. (Brittany Caffet/980 CJME)

It was when he went to Winnipeg in 2016 that he really made his mark in the CFL. From 2016-23, Hardrick was a multi-time CFL all-star and was the West Division Most Outstanding Lineman in 2023.

He was also a two-time Grey Cup champion, winning for the Blue Bombers in 2019 and 2021.

“Winning the Grey Cup is one of the best feelings I’ve had besides getting married and having kids,” Hardrick said. “It’s permanent. That was the biggest thing. It’s something no one can ever take away from you.

“I’ll never forget the first time I won a Grey Cup. My son came down and he was crying and I told him, ‘Junior, we’re champions forever.’”

In 2024, Hardrick elected to join the Riders in the offseason. His first season back with the Riders was cut short after just five games due to  a season-ending quad injury.

“It was hard just not being able to do things myself and having to ask for help and being vulnerable and seeing it from the outside in,” Hardrick said. “Just seeing the little things I missed — the practices and the getting ready — made me love football even more because I missed it.

“I almost felt the end of it. Just to have a chance to come back, I’m just going to give it my all.”

Off the field, Hardrick is a community leader and has gone on plenty of visits to schools across his CFL stops.

“I’m trying to do my best. I didn’t get here by myself — I have great friends, a great family and great coaches here,” Hardrick said. “I don’t want to mess up. I want to do everything right. I won’t do everything perfectly but it’s special when someone says they look up to you and want to take pictures with you and makes you want to be right all the time.

“I want to be that way for my kids and my wife … It’s something I always have in the back of mind. It makes me think about every decision I make — would I make this young fan mad? My wife mad? Would I make my kids mad? It makes me think a lot more before I make a decision.”

Now that he’s healthy and playing once again, he believes this Riders has what it takes to raise the Grey Cup at the end of the season.

“Saskatchewan deserves a championship. You can go to any gas station or grocery store, the Rider Pride is there. We have to put the work in. This is a big year to put the work in and not talk about it,” Hardrick said. “We need to give them even more to cheer about.”

The Riders (4-0) take on the Calgary Stampeders (3-1) on Friday at Mosaic Stadium. Kickoff for the game is set for 7 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 5 p.m.

(Saskatchewan Roughriders)

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Brittany Caffet.