Davis: Lighter, quicker A.J. Ouellette insists, 'I'm still a power back'

Calgary Herald

14-05-2025

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While carrying a football, A.J. Ouellette is still recognizable with his tattooed legs, massive biceps, bushy beard and long hair.
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His hair is darker, but he's lighter. Before his second Saskatchewan Roughriders training camp in Saskatoon, which continues with daily workouts at Griffiths Stadium, Ouellette stopped dying his hair blonde, plus the running back shed some weight following a disappointing, injury-plagued 2024 season.
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'About 15 pounds (lighter) this camp from last camp,' said Ouellette, a seven-year CFL veteran who joined the Roughriders last year as a free agent from the Toronto Argonauts.
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'I didn't like the way I was feeling towards the end of the year. So I'm just trying to change up a little bit of my mindset and style of running.'
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Listed by the Roughriders as 5-foot-8 and 208 pounds, Ouellette actually lost 25 pounds before adding 10 back. A workout fanatic, Ouellette has been told to take it easier on his weightlifting workouts by Riders head coach Corey Mace.
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Ouellette and Canadian tennis player Bianca Andreescu, who has also slimmed down and is returning to world-class form, must be following similar diet and workout plans because he no longer looks like a power back, one of those dudes who would rather run over a would-be tackler than double-deke him.
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Truth be told, rebuilt Ouellette more closely resembles Mike Pringle, the CFL's alltime rushing leader.
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He didn't look anything like that last season, bothered by a series of injuries that started during training camp and hindered him into the postseason, when the Roughriders activated Ryquell Armstead as an insurance policy. Armstead, a mid-season addition after being dumped by the Ottawa Redblacks, clashed with the Roughriders' team-first philosophy and was waived before camp, leaving Ouellette as the unquestioned starter with, evidently, something to prove.
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'I took a lot of pride in mobility, just trying to get my body the best I could,' said Ouellette. 'I dropped a lot of body fat, increased my mobility. I kind of dropped too much there, so I went back up about 10 pounds, trying to gain some body fat because three per cent body fat's a little too low.'
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'A little bit,' said Ouellette. 'I'm still a power back, but I'm gonna have a couple other tools in my belt.
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Ouellette played only eight regular-season games in 2024, carrying 130 times for 558 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught 16 passes for 147 yards. His expectations were much higher, but Ouellette said the offence struggled for awhile because the players were learning a new system and each other, especially as the new running back tried adjusting to an unfamiliar group of offensive linemen who were blocking for him.