This week is a big week for Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick. It's the one-year anniversary of him sustaining a season-ending quad injury, one of the most significant of his career. 365 days later, his team is 4-0, preparing for a first-place showdown with the Calgary Stampeders.
So what comes to mind when he looks back at the last year?
“How much I missed it, just the work I put in and how much, man, I leaned on my teammates, my trainers, and my coaches, my wife. For two months, I couldn't do nothing with my leg. My wife had to get me off the bed. She had to put me in the bathroom. She was already, like, my superwoman, but that really showed me, she had to scrape me up. For literally two months, my leg was locked. She had to put me on the toilet. She had to get me out the bed. She had to put me in the truck, and that just showed me. I got to get back.”
Now, this isn't the only milestone for the Hardrick’s. Jermarcus and his wife, Sam, celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary this week. Lace is the traditional gift for a 13th anniversary, but what did the six-foot-four, 315-pound offensive lineman get his wife?
“I gave her the credit card, told her, go have fun. She still didn't buy anything. That's my wife. Give her a couple hundred dollars, say, hey, go have fun. I got the kids. She come back home with a coffee. That's my wife. She's everything I'm not. We were completely opposite when we met. Now, we're, like, one big, happy, we're just one person together now.”
Jermarcus Hardrick and the Saskatchewan Roughriders host the Calgary Stampeders on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium at 7 p.m.
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