Saskatchewan's Ferland a perfect fit anywhere on Roughriders' offensive line
Logan Ferland has built a reputation for versatility over his CFL career. The 28-year-old can play – and excel – at any position on the offensive line.
His adaptability was apparent during the 2024 season, when injuries forced the Roughriders to use 13 different starters and 16 players total on the line.
Ferland made 11 starts at right guard, two, including the West final, at right tackle and six, including the West semi-final, at centre. He performed so admirably he was named the outstanding offensive lineman for the West Division and a CFL all-star at guard.
For Ferland, from Melfort, Sask., it hasn't been a problem shifting to multiple spots on the offensive line, because it has been something he has been doing since his junior days in the CJFL. He was often lined up against the best defensive lineman the opponents had.
'Where it started was really with the Regina Thunder,' said Ferland, who starred for the team from 2015 to 2019. 'My last couple of years they would move me around in different spots.
'I really got used to it there. I was playing in multiple positions. When I moved on to the 'Riders, I knew that would be a way I could make the team was showing my versatility even though I was undersized at the time.'
It appears the Roughriders are going to have to lean on Ferland's versatility once again. The team has already lost a pair of big free agency pickups to long term injury at its training camp at Griffiths Stadium on the University of Saskatchewan campus.
Centre Sean McEwen, who played last season with the Calgary Stampeders, is out with an unspecified leg injury. Roughriders head coach Corey Mace confirmed Saturday that McEwen, who earned a Grey Cup ring with the Toronto Argonauts in 2017, would be out for a lengthy stretch.
Guard Philippe Gagnon tore his biceps at practice on Monday. On Wednesday, Mace said Gagnon's injury might not be season ending, but he won't be available for a while. Gagnon played with the Montreal Alouettes last season and helped them win the Grey Cup in 2023.
Those injuries caused the Roughriders to re-sign Saskatchewan Huskies grad Noah Zerr on Tuesday after releasing him on May 14.
The Roughriders play the first of their two pre-season games on Saturday, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Blue Bombers at Princess Auto Stadium.
Saskatchewan has a bit of time before cementing a starting offensive line. The Roughriders open their regular season June 5, hosting the Ottawa Redblacks at Mosaic Stadium.
Mace said Ferland's versatility is a huge asset for the team.
'We think so highly of Logan as an offensive lineman, period, and that is at multiple positions,' said Mace. 'If something does happen, having him as somebody who can move into multiple spots allows us to keep him on the field always and affords us an opportunity to put the best linemen out there that we feel gives us the best shot to win.
'I am extremely happy with him. He takes reps at all spots still, so I can't say enough good things about Logan Ferland.'
Once the injuries started to happen at training camp, it was business as usual for Ferland. He will play wherever the team needs him to play.
'I approach it like any other year, nothing changes,' said Ferland, who stands six-foot-four and weighs 300 pounds. '[The coaches] do reports for me every year, so I approach it like being ready for any spot.
'If they throw me in at centre, I will play centre. If they want to move me up to tackle, I will be ready for that. If they want to keep me at guard, I'll stay a guard.'
Ferland, who says his favourite position is right guard, said a number of coaches with the Thunder and the Roughriders played a huge role in helping develop his versatility.
He said he also learned a lot from now retired centre Dan Clark, who is also a Thunder alumnus, and retired guard Brandon LaBatte, a Regina Rams grad.
Ferland still says it is special for him to play for the Roughriders after growing in small Saskatchewan towns. He lived in Kindersley until age 11 before moving to Melfort and later playing for the Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate Comets nine-man team in high school.
He said the veterans he played with when he first joined the Roughriders reinforced that.
'It really is an honour to be able to play for this province being from here,' Ferland said. 'Growing up watching these guys and now being here, I have to pinch myself sometimes and just really realize where I am at.
'I have full-circle moments when I think back to where I initially started watching those guys and really looking up to those guys on TV.'
He says he is now setting a goal for young players who want to play professionally.
'Especially the ones from Saskatchewan – from the small-town schools – that might not think they have the opportunity.
'They can make an opportunity for themselves.'
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