Davis: CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders happy to get their Yoshi back ... from what, exactly?
Jermarcus 'Yoshi' Hardrick is one of those magical, talented athletes who is beloved by teammates, fans and maybe mostly by the media.
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Turn on your recorder and he's a quote machine, instantly worthy of a story or a column. An all-star offensive lineman, Hardrick is an emotional and candid spokesperson, an 11-year CFL veteran approaching his second season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, whose first season ended because of a quad injury during his new team's fifth game of 2024.
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There are so many things that could happen to an athlete's quadriceps: Bruises, strains and tears. Only a severe tear requires several months to heal a quadriceps, the large front-of-thigh muscles that flex human knees and hips.
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Hardrick can be easily forgiven if he doesn't want to describe the devastating injury. It was the first major injury of his lengthy, interesting career. He was more eager to discuss the path back.
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On the opening day of Roughriders training camp in Saskatoon, Hardrick reflected on his gruelling rehabilitation and told three reporters how his wife initially had to help him get out of bed and go to the toilet, how his children motivated him to get back into playing shape, how much time he spent at a pal's gym, how he watched inspiring videos about Kobe Bryant and Kyrie Irving recovering from injuries, how he got support by calling friends and teammates and how he was so excited about rejoining his buddies on the practice field that he couldn't sleep the night before camp opened.
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'Very emotional,' said Hardrick. 'Very emotional. I dreamed about this for the last 10 months.'
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How retirement never entered his mind.
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'No, never thought about it,' said Hardrick. 'Don't wanna think about it. Until J.O. (Riders general manager Jeremy O'Day) tells me not to show up, or someone in the league tells me not to show up, I'm gonna keep showing up.'
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Nobody can question his devotion. Hardrick grew up with 16 siblings in a small Mississippi town, where he got his nickname from hanging out with his older brother Mario. Yoshi is a sidekick of the main character in Super Mario video games.
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'It didn't seem like this day would come,' said Hardrick. 'January, February, it was a little rough. Finally took the brace off, started running a little bit, had to re-learn how to walk and squat.
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'It was more mental than physical. But just to be out here man, it's amazing! I'll do this anytime. It's lovely to get interviewed again.'
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After playing collegiately at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Hardrick tried out for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints before sandwiching two Arena Football League seasons around a 12-game CFL stint with the B.C. Lions in 2014.
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