The Saskatchewan Roughriders appear set to make a change in their secondary heading into Saturday’s matchup with Calgary. With Rolan Milligan Jr. sidelined after suffering an injury in the season-opening win over B.C., rookie defensive back JuJu Hughes looks poised to draw into the lineup at halfback.
For Hughes, the opportunity may have arrived earlier than expected, but the preparation started long before this week.
“It’s a blessing,” Hughes said following practice Tuesday. “It’s just what I work for, what they brought me here for, just to be prepared, to be ready for when my number’s called and now’s the time.”
The 28-year-old arrived in Saskatchewan with a resume that stands out for a CFL newcomer.
Signed by the Roughriders in March, Hughes brings NFL experience after spending time with the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals organizations. Across three NFL seasons, he appeared in 26 regular-season games and recorded 26 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
Before turning pro, Hughes built an impressive collegiate career at Fresno State, where he piled up 247 tackles and seven interceptions across four seasons while earning All-Mountain West honours.
The Roughriders have liked what they’ve seen since training camp. Head coach Corey Mace had high praise when asked about the potential replacement for Milligan.
“Ball player, man. Ball player,” Mace said. “He worked there throughout training camp.”
Mace added that Hughes moved around to different spots in camp but consistently showed why Saskatchewan wanted to bring him north.
“Hellacious college career. Obviously had some good plays at the pro level. We were happy as ever to get him to come to the green and white finally, and he’s been as advertised for us.”
Hughes made an early impression during the pre-season opener in Calgary, recording six defensive tackles and a special teams stop.
Current Riders defensive back Jaxon Ford believes Hughes has already shown he’s ready.
“He’s got to do his job,” Ford said. “He played really well throughout camp and did his thing in that first preseason game. Had a bunch of tackles, even on specials too. I know he’s going to be ready, and he’s a pro just like me, and we’re going to go out there and ball.”
For Hughes, being on the practice roster to start the season never changed his mindset.
“You never kind of know, but it’s always the goal,” Hughes said. “We go in every day ready to play. They prepare us like you’re going to be playing that day.”
That preparation has helped Hughes settle into the Canadian game after spending years south of the border. Earlier in camp, Hughes spoke about getting comfortable with the CFL’s wider field and unique spacing, and now he feels the game has started slowing down.
“I definitely think I became more and more comfortable,” Hughes said. “Even getting those mental reps day in and day out took my game to the next level.”
Asked about the biggest adjustment from the NFL to the CFL, Hughes kept it simple.
“Maybe that one extra guy, the receivers running at you, the wider field,” he said. “After you go against those couple of things, though, football’s football, man.”
Even with an opportunity in front of him, Hughes plans to lean on the player he’s replacing.
He said he has already spent time throughout the season talking football with Milligan and expects that to continue this week.
“You got a great player like that, you always want to be able to talk ball, bounce off each other,” Hughes said. “I’ll definitely be leaning on him.”
Milligan arrived in Saskatchewan after taking a similar path through the NFL before becoming one of the CFL’s premier defensive backs, something Hughes has noticed.
“He’s had a great career here,” Hughes said. “If I could have something similar to that, that’s a blessing in itself.”
Now, Hughes gets his first chance to begin writing his own CFL story. And if the Roughriders’ coaching staff and teammates are right, Saskatchewan may already know exactly what it has in its next man up.
