REGINA -- The Saskatchewan Roughriders' coaching staff didn’t waste any time getting rookie American offensive lineman Darius Washington involved in the game in Week 7 against the B.C. Lions.
On the Riders’ first offensive play, the six-foot-four, 310-pound left tackle was off and running: pulling to the right, hammering a block and helping spring running back A.J. Ouellette for a 15-yard gain. Four snaps later, the Green and White were in the end zone while Washington and his o-line teammates were on their way to an outstanding game.
AJ Ouellette fights his way through!
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Like anyone making the first start of their Canadian Football League career, Washington was hoping to get things off to a good start and his first play was most certainly that.
"I'm thankful that they even called that play,” Washington said. “They had the trust in me to be able to pull and get the job done, pulling around and hitting a linebacker really helped me get acclimated to the game really fast, when you pull around those linebackers, they hit fast. You have to be ready to hit, I was ready to hit and that woke me up to be able to continue to play the rest of the game.”
The statistics themselves backed up how well Washington and crew played -- protecting quarterback Trevor Harris to the tune of 395 yards passing and opening enough holes for the running game that Ouellette, fellow back Ka’Deem Carey and short-yardage QB Tommy Stevens racked up 111 yards on the ground.
The former Florida State Seminoles standout was naturally happy with that result, but saw room for improvement in his game that could help things be even better.
“I did some good things on protection and in the run game, but we have practices for a reason, so we can come out and continue to work on those little things and continue to get better each and every week,” Washington said. “You're not going to play a perfect game, but you want to go out there and give it your best each and every week. I want to continue to work on that and be the best person I can be for my teammates and coaches.”
The showing was also a massive improvement compared to how things went for Saskatchewan one week earlier, when Washington was still a member of the practice roster. That game -- a 24-10 loss to Calgary -- saw the Riders looking for a lot more physicality on the offensive line, and for the most part, Washington felt they were able to bring it.
Now the key will be to keep that style of game going forward, especially on Friday night when the Edmonton Elks make their first visit to Mosaic Stadium. To that end, the Riders have been looking to keep that energy up as they prepare for the contest.
“Everything starts from practice because if you come out and work on physicality during practice and work on that mindset of being able to come out and dominate each and every week, then you're going to carry over into the games,” Washington said. “We as a team want to continue to come out and practice harder every day and be prepared for the games.”
Washington is the third player to start at left tackle this season after Payton Collins (knee) and Daniel Johnson (shoulder) both suffered injuries. Right place at the right time, next man up, and Washington is looking to make the most of his opportunity the rest of the season if need be.
“It was very great and humbling to know that my teammates, the coaches, and the organization believed in me to be able to go out there and be able to get the job done and help the team win,” he said. “So that was great to be able to get some action in football again and I’ll continue to work on it.”
Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk, and Wes Cates have the pre-game show on Friday at 4 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 7 p.m. You can hear our coverage live on radio and streaming on the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
