No. 51 Saskatchewan Roughriders | |
Nickname(s) | Yoshi |
---|---|
Born: | Batesville, Mississippi | May 30, 1990
Career information | |
Status | Active |
CFL status | American |
Position(s) | Offensive lineman |
Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) |
Weight | 311 lb (141 kg) |
College |
Fort Scott Nebraska |
High school | South Panola |
Career history | |
As player | |
2012 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers* |
2012 | New Orleans Saints* |
2013 | Utah Blaze |
2014 | BC Lions |
2015 | Tampa Bay Storm |
2015 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
2016– 2023 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
2024–present | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
*Offseason or practice squad only | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
CFL All-Star | 2021, 2023 |
CFL West All-Star | 2017, 2021, 2023 |
Career stats | |
Games played | 133 |
Games started | 131 |
Jermarcus "Yoshi" Hardrick (born May 30, 1990) is a professional gridiron football offensive lineman for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). [1] He is a Grey Cup champion as a member of the 107th Grey Cup champions and is a two-time West Division All-Star receiving the honour in 2017 and 2021. [2] He played college football for the Fort Scott Greyhounds before joining the Nebraska Cornhuskers for two years to finish his college playing eligibility. [3]
Hardrick was originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on May 7, 2012. [4] He played in three preseason games, but was released with the final cuts on August 31, 2012. [5] [4] He later signed a practice roster agreement on November 21, 2012, with the New Orleans Saints and was not re-signed during the following off-season. [4] He then spent one season in the Arena Football League (AFL), playing for the Utah Blaze. [6]
Hardrick signed a practice roster agreement with the BC Lions on July 15, 2014, and played in his first CFL game on July 19, 2014, against the Montreal Alouettes. [1] [7] The following week, he made his first career start on July 25, 2014, in a game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. [2] During the 2014 season, he played in 12 games for the Lions and started in 10 of them. [2] He was released by the Lions on April 29, 2015. [8]
After being released, Hardrick returned to the AFL with the Tampa Bay Storm, joining them on June 5, 2015, but stayed with the team for only two games. [6] On June 18, 2015, it was announced that Hardrick had signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders just prior to the team's second preseason game. [8] [9] He was released shortly after, but was signed to the team's practice roster on August 20, 2015. [8] He was promoted to the active roster for the September 6, 2015 game against the Blue Bombers where the Roughriders earned their first win of a difficult season. [8] He dressed and started in eight games to end the 2015 season. [2] He was released by the Roughriders on February 16, 2016. [10]
One day after his release from the Roughriders, Hardrick signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on February 17, 2016. [11] For the 2016 season, he played and started in 16 regular season games as the Blue Bombers qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2011. [2] He also started a trend for home games at IG Field when the lineman, weighing 314 pounds (142 kg), jumped into the stands following a touchdown. The crowd celebration would become known as the "Hardrick Hop" or " Hardrick Leap". [12]
In 2017, Hardrick started all 18 regular season games at right tackle and was named a CFL West All-star. [13] He signed a one-year contract extension at the end of the season on November 16, 2017. [14] For the 2018 season, he missed three games due to injury, but started in the other 15 regular season games. [2] He started in both of the Blue Bomber's playoff games, as Winnipeg lost the West Final to the Calgary Stampeders. [2] He signed a one-year extension on November 28, 2018. [15]
The 2019 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season saw Hardrick start at right tackle for all 18 regular season games as the team led the league in rushing yards. [2] [16] He also started in all three of the Blue Bombers' post-season games and he won his first Grey Cup championship in 107th Grey Cup victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. [17]
In the following off-season, Hardrick signed a one-year extension on December 14, 2019, to play with the team for the 2020 season. [17] However, the 2020 CFL season was cancelled, so he signed another one-year extension on December 30, 2020. [18] Hardrick again anchored the right side of the line as Winnipeg went on to led the CFL in wins during the regular season. They would defeat Saskatchewan in the semi-finals to go to a Grey Cup rematch with Hamilton. In the 2021 Grey Cup the Bombers trailed 22-10 but Hardrick helped build a clean pocket as the Bombers would come back to win 33-25 in overtime for their second Grey Cup championship in a row. For his great play throughout the season, Hardrick was named a CFL All-Star and CFL West All-Star for the first time in his career.
Hardrick then signed a one-year contract extension at $150,000 for the year to stay in Winnipeg for the 2022 CFL season. [19]
Hardrick became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024. [20]
On February 5, 2024, during the CFL's Free Agency communication window, it was reported that once the free agent market officially opens on February 13, Hardrick would be signing a two-year contract with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. [21] On February 13, the Roughriders confirmed that Hardrick had signed a two-year contract with the team. [22]
Hardrick was born and grew up in the small town of Courtland, Mississippi, population 350. The town was very small and did not have a lot of opportunity for its residents, the town had no paved roads, aside from the highway, and most residents lived in trailers. [23] His birth father went to prison when Hardrick was three, he had fathered 17 children in Courtland with different women, and was rarely seen in his life. [23] Hardrick's best friend growing up was a boy named Mario Lewis; because the two were always together, people began calling Hardrick "Yoshi", a reference to the characters Mario and Yoshi from the Mario franchise of video games. [23] The two would later find out they were half-brothers. [23] He met his wife Samantha at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she was competing as a track athlete, and together they have three children, living at their home in Lincoln during the off-season. [23] [19]