Give extra credit to Saskatchewan’s O-line coach Edwin Harrison
Voters pick quarterbacks, receivers, running backs or, on extremely rare occasions, a defensive player as a team’s outstanding performer. Those high-profile guys have stats — completion percentages, yards, touchdowns or tackles — which attract attention from the Football Reporters of Canada, whose outstanding player votes will be supplemented this year by CFL fans and the league’s nine head coaches.
Because there are other categories to recognize a team’s top defensive and special teams players, Ferland will certainly be named the Roughriders’ outstanding offensive lineman in 2024. He also earned that honour in 2023 and 2022.
His most impressive statistic: Heading into Saturday’s game against the visiting Ottawa Redblacks, while injured teammates have kept falling around him, Ferland has played all 14 regular-season games and moved from right guard to right tackle to left tackle to centre. There are only five positions on an offensive line and he has played four of them this year, all surprisingly well.
“I don’t think I played left guard,” Ferland said after a recent Riders practice at Mosaic Stadium. “I prepped for a left guard game, but I don’t think I did play there.
“Wherever they need me, I’m willing to go. The important part is we’ve got a lot of guys who can play a lot of different positions.”
“Hats off to Armstead,” said Ferland. “He made us look good in a lot of circumstances. He’s a man on a mission and, you know, all our backs have been very good this year.
“It’s really a total offence. Look at sacks. That’s not just the O-line. That’s Trevor, that’s the back. It’s because we all know our schemes. It’s never as easy as seeing the number and saying, ‘The O-line’s doing good!’ It’s the whole offence.”
“It’s hard to watch,” said Ferland. “You know what they put into it and it’s their livelihood, right? One wrong injury and that can be your career. So it really makes you not take it for granted, to really respect each and every play you get to play.”
Born in Melfort, Ferland played junior football for the Regina Thunder and joined the Roughriders in 2019 as a territorial protection. He started all 14 games during the pandemic-shortened 2021 season, 13 coincidentally at left guard before shifting to centre for the final contest. He has missed only two games since starting his pro career.
“You know what? I think the Thunder helped me out quite a bit,” said Ferland. “I had to move around my last two years, I had to move around a lot.
“That really got me used to playing multiple spots, then coming here to learn from (former) centre Dan Clark, who said to learn everything from a centre’s standpoint. That way you know how to do everything because if you know centre, you know how to play all the positions. From there it’s just physical.”
It’s not gonna happen because assistants don’t get recognized with awards, but Harrison is worthy of being coach-of-the-year, too.
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