The Saskatchewan Roughriders did a complete 180 on Draft Day.
Precisely 180 minutes elapsed between their first and final selections on Tuesday. And it all began with a question …
4:37 p.m.: “Is everybody feeling good?” Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O’Day asks his colleagues in Mosaic Stadium’s War Room, having expressed his view that Bowling Green defensive lineman Ali Saad should be Saskatchewan’s first-round selection (fourth overall). There was nary an objection from Corey Mace (Head Coach/Defensive Co-ordinator), Kyle Carson (Assistant GM), Larry Dean (Player Personnel Co-ordinator), Marc Mueller (Offensive Co-ordinator) and Kent Maugeri (Special Teams Co-ordinator). “Saad it is,” O’Day confirms. Moments later, newly appointed CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston announces the pick on TSN.
4:43 p.m.: TSN shows a graphic of notable quarterbacks who have been selected in a CFL Draft. “Where’s Mueller?” Mace inquires, calculatedly rankling his OC. The undrafted Mueller, formerly of the University of Regina Rams, could have pointed out that he was 3-for-3 at Mosaic Stadium in a June 17, 2011 pre-season audition with Edmonton. But only statistical nerds remember this kind of stuff — let alone point it out. Guilty.
4:52 p.m.: Mace is on the phone with Saad, whose mother was so excited about the Draft developments that she started crying.
5:24: As the Roughriders’ second-round pick (13th overall) approaches, O’Day grabs four magnets — each of which displays the name of a prospective draftee — from the position-by-position board and sits down. One of those players is promptly snapped up by a rival team, so a magnet is pushed to the side. All along, O’Day is hoping the discarded magnet will not be joined by one marked “Erik Andersen.”
5:38: The Roughriders, as it turns out, can celebrate a Lucky 13. Andersen, a towering offensive lineman from Western University, is still available when Saskatchewan’s turn arrives in Round 2, with the 13th pick. The Roughriders are on the clock, but barely any time elapses before Andersen — who merited a first-round grade on the team’s draft board — is chosen. “He’s too good to pass up,” Carson says. (A quick interjection: The Roughriders’ other Assistant GM, Alabama-based Paul Jones, is connected to Draft Headquarters by video.)
5:45: Mace chats with Andersen. “Congratulations and celebrate a bit,” the Roughriders’ field boss tells the second-round selection. “My man … let’s go!”
6:05: O’Day poses The Question. “Do you guys want to talk about it?” he asks. In this case, it is whether to select Kurtis Rourke if the Indiana University star quarterback remains unclaimed when Saskatchewan picks in the third round (25th overall). Pick by pick … tick, tick, tick … names come off the board. The Rourke magnet is still in front of O’Day. “I feel great about it,” Mace says. Carson adds: “It’s a grand slam if he comes here.” Mueller chimes in: “He’s really good. It just comes down to how long we have to wait for him.” The answer might be “forever.” Rourke, after all, was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in Round 7 of the recent NFL Draft. But if he shakes free, at any time in the future … lottery win. “Are we good?” O’Day reiterates. “I want to do it. Let’s go … Rourke.” Rourke it is. Social media will soon be ablaze.
6:43: Have cake. Eat it, too. The good name of Seth Hundeby appeared on one of the magnets O’Day was holding before Rourke became the third-round choice. Well, guess what? The Roughriders’ turn arrives in the fourth round, with the 45th pick, and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies linebacker has yet to be claimed. That soon changes. The Roughriders are able to draft Rourke and Hundeby. Perfect. As is the case after every pick, there are hugs and fist-bumps. Months of hard work and exhaustive research have brought us to this point. There is excitement and, yes, a bit of relief. That is what happens when you sweat out a series of draft picks with fingers (but not signals) crossed.
6:55: Another Roughriders draftee offers versatility. Hundeby, who plans to return to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies for the 2025 season while completing an engineering degree, can play linebacker or defensive end. If need be, he can also handle long snapping. In Round 5, Saskatchewan welcomes another multi-faceted player — the University of Windsor’s Liam Hoskins. Listed as a defensive lineman, he can also play linebacker … and special teams. Maugeri’s smile is noted.
7:08: In the latter rounds, there is precious little time between picks. Only 13 minutes after the Roughriders secure the rights to Hoskins, the team adds University of Calgary Dinos defensive back Gideon Agyei. “He can fly,” Mace says of the long-armed 6-foot-2, 189-pounder, who was a multi-time track and field medallist in high school.
7:09: A bit of a respite. The Roughriders’ seventh-round pick (61st) belongs to the Calgary Stampeders due to a Dec. 23 trade that brought quarterback Jake Maier to Saskatchewan. So, in essence, two quarterbacks — Maier and Rourke — have impacted the Roughriders’ 2025 Draft.
7:35: Saskatchewan is poised to make its final pick (Round 8, 69th overall) and U of S receiver Daniel Wiebe is still part of the equation. This development pleases O’Day, who smiles and says, “Dogs, Dogs, Dogs.” The Saskatoon-born Wiebe could soon become a Roughrider. One final time, the 2025 Draft unfolds in Saskatchewan’s favour. There aren’t any dissenting voices. The timing could hardly be better. The Roughriders’ brass will soon attend Thursday’s Dogs’ Breakfast in Saskatoon, having just chosen two Huskies players — Hundeby and Wiebe. “Now we’ve got to print up two jerseys,” President-CEO Craig Reynolds says, jokingly. “This is getting expensive.”
7:37: The Roughriders’ final pick is confirmed when Jordan Greenly, Director of Football Operations, informs the CFL that the team is “proud to select Daniel Wiebe of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.” After three hours, on the nose, another Draft is in the books. More hugs. More handshakes. More fist-bumps. And a few days to unwind before rookie camp begins at Saskatoon’s Griffiths Stadium — home of the “Dogs, Dogs, Dogs.”
