A. J. Ouellette (born July 20, 1995) is an American[1] professional football running back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has previously played for the Toronto Argonauts.
 Ouellette with the Toronto Argonauts in 2023 | |||||||||||
| No. 45 – Saskatchewan Roughriders | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | July 20, 1995 Covington, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Covington | ||||||||||
| College: | Ohio | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| CFL status: | American | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
| Career CFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||||
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College career
editOuellette played college football for the Ohio Bobcats from 2014 to 2018 while using a medical redshirt season in 2016 after suffering an injury in his first game that year.[2] He finished his collegiate career having played in 50 games where he had 719 carries for 3,833 yards and 32 rushing touchdowns and 64 receptions for 516 yards and six receiving touchdowns.[2]
Awards and recognition
edit- Two time Team captain.
- Rushed for 1,000 yards in 2017 and 2018.
- Second Team All-MAC Offense 2017.
- Honored by the touchdown Club of Columbus, 2015.
- In 2015 lead team in rush attempts and rushing yards.
- in 2014 was two-time MAC East Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 6 and 24).
- DXL Frisco Bowl Offensive MVP.
College statistics
edit| Ohio Bobcats | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | GP | Att | Yards | Avg | TDs | Rec | Yards | Avg | TDs | |||||
| 2014 | Ohio | 10 | 160 | 785 | 4.9 | 7 | 21 | 133 | 6.3 | 3 | |||||
| 2015 | Ohio | 13 | 151 | 691 | 4.5 | 6 | 12 | 74 | 6.2 | 0 | |||||
| 2016 | Ohio | 1 | 3 | 45 | 15.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2017 | Ohio | 13 | 192 | 1,006 | 5.2 | 7 | 10 | 97 | 9.7 | 1 | |||||
| 2018 | Ohio | 13 | 213 | 1,306 | 6.1 | 12 | 21 | 212 | 10.1 | 2 | |||||
| College totals | 50 | 719 | 3,833 | 5.3 | 32 | 64 | 516 | 10.0 | 6 | ||||||
Professional career
editNew Orleans Saints
editIn May 2019, Ouellette signed with the New Orleans Saints.[3] New Orleans waived Ouellette on May 28, 2019.[4]
Cleveland Browns
editOn July 27, 2019, Ouellette signed with the Cleveland Browns.[5] However, he was waived by Cleveland on August 31, 2019.[6]
Toronto Argonauts
editOn September 17, 2019, it was announced that Ouellette had signed with the Toronto Argonauts.[7] He played in his first career game on October 18, 2019, against the Montreal Alouettes where he had four carries for 20 yards.[8] In the following game, he recorded his first career touchdown on a 15-yard pass from Dakota Prukop in a game against the Ottawa Redblacks on October 26, 2019.[9] He played in three regular season games in 2019 where he had 23 carries for 114 yards and five receptions for 39 yards and one touchdown.[8]
Ouellette did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season, but signed a contract extension with the Argonauts on December 15, 2020.[10] In 2021, he played in just six games while spending time on the injured list and practice roster, but recorded 23 carries for 143 yards.[8][11] Ouellette made his post-season debut, on December 5, 2021, after playing in the East Final where he had four carries for eight yards in the loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.[8]
Ouellette began the 2022 season on the injured list and played in just three of the team's first eight games as the back up running back.[12] However, following a season-ending injury to the team's starting running back, Andrew Harris, Ouellette became the team's starting running back on August 20, 2022, where he had six carries for 18 yards and seven catches for 92 yards against the Calgary Stampeders.[12] He scored his first career rushing touchdown on September 10, 2022, in the victory over the Ottawa Redblacks.[8] Ouellette finished the season having played in 13 regular season games carrying the ball 98 times for 516 yards with two touchdowns. He also caught 38 passes for 350 yards and a score. On February 11, 2023, Ouellette and the Argos agree to a contract extension.[13]
In 2023, Ouellette entered the season as the starting running back as Harris was relegated to backup status. Ouellette played in 15 games, sitting out three as the Argonauts clinched the division early, where he recorded 178 carries for 1,009 yards and eight touchdowns along with 16 catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns.[8] He was named a CFL East All-Star for the second consecutive season.[14] In the following off-season, he became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024.[15]
Saskatchewan Roughriders
editOn February 13, 2024, the Saskatchewan Roughriders announced that Ouellette had signed a two-year contract with the team.[16]
Professional statistics
edit| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2019 | TOR | 3 | 2 | 23 | 114 | 5.0 | 36 | 0 | 5 | 39 | 7.8 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | TOR | Season cancelled | |||||||||||||
| 2021 | TOR | 6 | 1 | 23 | 143 | 6.2 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | TOR | 13 | 9 | 98 | 516 | 5.3 | 34 | 2 | 38 | 350 | 9.2 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | TOR | 15 | 15 | 178 | 1,009 | 5.7 | 42 | 8 | 16 | 163 | 10.2 | 28 | 2 | NA | NA |
| Career | 37 | 27 | 322 | 1,782 | 5.5 | 42 | 10 | 59 | 552 | 9.4 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
Personal life
editOuellette was born to parents Phil and Jody Ouellette and has one older sister, Ashlie. Ouellette is married to Haley Ouellette.[2]
References
edit- ^ Zicarelli, Frank (May 21, 2021). "Family roots in small-town Ohio define Argos' Ouellette". Toronto Sun. Toronto Sun. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "A.J. Ouellette". Ohio Bobcats. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
- ^ "Ouellette signs free agent contract with New Orleans Saints - Troy Daily News". www.tdn-net.com. May 13, 2019.
- ^ "Saints sign former Ravens RB Javorius Allen, waive two players". May 28, 2019.
- ^ "Browns sign RB A.J. Ouellette". Cleveland Browns. July 27, 2019.
- ^ "Browns cut roster to 53 players". www.clevelandbrowns.com.
- ^ "Argos Add Six to Expanded PR". Toronto Argonauts. September 17, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "A. J. Ouellette". Canadian Football League. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ "Ottawa Redblacks vs Toronto Argonauts". Canadian Football League. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
- ^ "Argos ink DB Boateng, five others to extension; release OL Richards". CFL.ca. December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ "Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs Toronto Argonauts Game Notes" (PDF). Canadian Football League. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "Ottawa Redblacks vs Toronto Argonauts Game Notes" (PDF). Canadian Football League. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
- ^ TSN ca Staff (February 11, 2023). "Toronto Argonauts re-sign running back A.J. Ouellette". TSN. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
- ^ "In the Stars: 2023 Division All-Stars unveiled". Canadian Football League. November 2, 2023.
- ^ "Official 2024 Free Agent Tracker". Canadian Football League. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ^ "He's worthy! Running back A.J. Ouellette to thunder out of the Rider backfield in 2024". Saskatchewan Roughriders. February 13, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2024.