While Saskatchewan Roughriders' running back A.J. Ouellette recovers from an ankle injury, Andrew Harris highlights Quali Conley and Thomas Bertrand-Hudon's contributions.
"The guys that stepped in the last two weeks did a heck of a job. Quali Conley was really impressive in training camp. We brought him in two days before the Winnipeg game and he basically picked up the game plan for that," Harris said on the SportsCage.
"Thomas has been a very reliable second-string guy for the last few years. He's a guy that we want to get more opportunities because throughout practice and throughout the course of the last few years, he's shown that he can be a productive runner. That Canadian passport that he possesses is an added bonus for us as well."
Ouellette was injured in the Riders 40-37 Week 3 win over the Calgary Stampeders, he left with an ankle injury in the third quarter.
Conley has been listed as the starter for the two games that Ouellette has missed, while Bertrand-Hudon was his backup. Through two games, Conley has 20 carries for 107 yards and one touchdown. Meanwhile, Bertrand-Hudon has dressed four games so far and recorded 13 carries for 57 yards.
Ouellette's in his third year with Saskatchewan and he is 30 years old. Harris knows he can help Ouellette adapt his running style as he gets older.
"He's been such a physical type of back where he's taken on numerous tackles that he shouldn't have to or doesn't need to," Harris explained.
"The challenge has been to get him to be a little more dynamic and play a little more loose. Not so tight and trying to run through everything and absorb more than explode through guys. For him, that's part of staying healthy as well. Not taking as many impact plays and as many car crashes throughout a game.”
2025 was Harris’ first year as the Roughriders running backs coach, Ouellette finished playing 17 regular season games and rushed for 1,222 yards with eight touchdowns.
Later, Harris shared the mindset he gives the running backs he coaches about what he wants from them.
"Our mantra is minimum movement to maximize production. So if we're wasting time and wasting energy on certain cuts or certain movements we're not going to maximize our production that way," Harris said.
"So we want to minimize those moments, minimize those cuts, minimize those hits, those car crashes, and we want to maximize that production over an 18-game plus the three or two in the playoffs, so that's the goal for us.”
