REGINA -- Through his first three seasons in the Canadian Football League, linebacker A.J. Allen had developed into a pretty decent special teams player for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
After racking up 19 tackles while covering kick and punt returns in 2023, the Burlington, ON native was even more effective last season, leading the entire CFL with 22 special teams tackles while also recording his first interception and touchdown as a linebacker.
Through it all, head coach Corey Mace and his staff could see something a little more there -- something untapped and in reserve, a spark that could turn Allen into something special if things fell his way.
That opportunity came when standout linebacker C.J. Avery suffered an injury in the first game of the 2025 season, with Allen taking over as the starter at weak-side linebacker in Week 2.
The rest, as they say, is history.
The 27-year-old has been an absolute force on defence for Saskatchewan, heading into the final game of the regular season with a team-best 88 total tackles, plus four sacks and three interceptions to go along for good measure. Allen is also currently sixth in the entire CFL in total tackles, sitting in rarified air of some of the best defensive players in the game today.
So it came as little surprise when the Riders named Allen the team’s Most Outstanding Canadian, and a unanimous selection, at that.
“You gotta work your tail off every day and when opportunity calls, you gotta take it and run and he's done that,” Mace said. “Certainly I thought in the offseason, we had to make a couple decisions and making sure that A.J. was still here was amongst the top of the list because I think we had seen the trajectory of the possibility of what it could be if he did get those reps on defence. His opportunity came and he's been excellent.”
As one might expect, Allen was exceptionally honoured by the award, which is voted on by each team’s head coach and local voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada.
“Incredibly special, man,” Allen said. “I really couldn't do this without my teammates and my coaches from the D-line all the way to linebackers and DBs. It means so much to me to get the recognition. But again, still trying to go on and on. We got bigger fish to fry, but it's really awesome.”
Allen has often referred to himself as ‘just a kid from Burlington’ in the past, referring to how opportunity and hard work can lead to spectacular results, regardless of where a player is from.
“If I could do it, a lot of people can too,” he said. “It's a combination of putting the work in and putting your head down and working. So it means so much. It's possible, it's really possible for anybody to get your head right, get your body right, and then you can do the things that you want to be. You can prove yourself right, given any opportunity, whatever you want to do.”
It wasn’t long after the awards were announced the Roughriders themselves jumped on the A.J. Allen hype train. Allen will have some stiff competition in the West Division for the Most Outstanding Canadian award thanks to B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke and Winnipeg running back Brady Oliveira -- the reigning MOC -- but his teammates have left little question as to who they’re backing.
That includes fellow standout linebacker Jameer Thurman, who posted his support for Allen on social media.
“CFL fans and media always talk about promoting homegrown Canadian talent, but it seems only for a select few,” Thurman wrote on X. “A.J. Allen has been one of the best linebackers in the CFL this year and has the numbers to prove it. A guy that made a name for himself being a special teams ace for three years, leading the league in special teams tackles last year, and now starting on defence playing at an All-CFL level. He put in the work, waited for his opportunity, and has excelled at a high level. It’s time to give him the respect he deserves.”
Allen is naturally appreciative of the support.
“It means everything,” he said. “I'm a huge team-first guy, so to see them putting me first, you can't even put it in words. It's so much love and that's what the great teams have. These are my friends, these aren't just my teammates or acquaintances. These are my friends, so to have your friends support in anything you do is always amazing. So yeah, it means everything.”
Those same teammates have also been a key factor in Allen’s development into an elite player, with their work alongside the coaching staff helping fuel his rapid improvement from the start of the campaign.
A major part of that success is the defensive unit’s camaraderie, with every player more than happy to help everyone else push in a positive direction.
“I think a big part of it is that we are friends, so it's easy to talk to each other, whether we're wrong or right, and fix things,” Allen said. “So they've been an absolutely huge impact, being able to trust them and them being able to trust me is a difference between making plays and not making plays. It's the difference between hesitation and no hesitation.”
With each CFL team having made their player award announcements, next up is voting on the West and East Division finalists, from which the CFL award winners will be selected.
Regardless of how things turn out, Allen has no intention of letting up in his quest to improve, especially with the big games ahead -- and regardless of how surreal things seem given how it all looked at the very start of the season
“If you told me this was gonna happen in preseason or in training camp, I wouldn't believe you, but here we are,” Allen said. “I hope I'm not the same person I was Week 1. I really hope not. And I hope that I'm not the same guy next week and the week after that and the week after that. I'm always trying to improve whether that be on a football field or outside of it. But it does feel like a lifetime ago, a whole different age.”
The Roughriders close out the regular season Saturday when Saskatchewan hosts the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk and Wes Cates have all the pre-game action beginning at 2 p.m. on the Rider Broadcast Network, followed by the game call with Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder at 5 p.m.
