A. J. Ouellette

A. J. Ouellette (born July 20, 1995) is an American professional football running back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has previously played for the Toronto Argonauts.

College career Ouellette played college football for the Ohio Bobcats from 2014 to 2018 while using a medical redshirt season in 2016 after suffering an injury in his first game that year. He finished his collegiate career having played in 50 games where he had 719 carries for 3,833 yards and 32 rushing touchdowns and 64 receptions for 516 yards and six receiving touchdowns.

New Orleans Saints On May 13, 2019, Ouellette signed with the New Orleans Saints. New Orleans waived Ouellette on May 28.

Cleveland Browns On July 27, 2019, Ouellette signed with the Cleveland Browns. However, he was waived by Cleveland on August 31.

Toronto Argonauts On September 17, 2019, it was announced that Ouellette had signed with the Toronto Argonauts. He played in his first career game on October 18, against the Montreal Alouettes where he had four carries for 20 yards. In the following game, Ouellette recorded his first career touchdown on a 15-yard pass from Dakota Prukop in a game against the Ottawa Redblacks on October 26. He played in three regular season games in 2019 where he had 23 carries for 114 yards and five receptions for 39 yards and one touchdown. In 2021, he played in just six games while spending time on the injured list and practice roster, but recorded 23 carries for 143 yards. Ouellette made his post-season debut, on December 5, 2021, after playing in the East Final where he had four carries for eight yards in the loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. However, following a season-ending injury to the team's starting running back, Andrew Harris, Ouellette became the team's starting running back on August 20, 2022, where he had six carries for 18 yards and seven catches for 92 yards against the Calgary Stampeders.

In 2023, Ouellette entered the season as the starting running back as Harris was relegated to backup status. Ouellette played in 15 games, sitting out three as the Argonauts clinched the division early, where he recorded 178 carries for 1,009 yards and eight touchdowns along with 16 catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns. In the following off-season, he became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024.

Saskatchewan Roughriders On February 13, 2024, the Saskatchewan Roughriders announced that Ouellette had signed a two-year contract with the team. His 2024 season was limited due to injury as he played in just eight games, recording 130 carries for 558 rushing yards and three touchdowns along with 16 receptions for 147 yards.

Career statistics

CFL Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles 2019 TOR 3 2 23 114 5.0 36 0 5 39 7.8 15 1 0 0 2020 TOR Season cancelled 2021 TOR 6 1 23 143 6.2 30 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2022 TOR 13 9 98 516 5.3 34 2 38 350 9.2 28 1 1 1 2023 TOR 15 15 178 1,009 5.7 42 8 16 163 10.2 28 2 1 0 2024 SSK 8 8 130 558 4.3 27 3 16 147 9.2 19 0 2 1Career 45 35 452 2,340 5.3 42 13 75 699 9.2 28 4 4 2

College Rushing Receiving Year Team GP Att Yards Avg TDs Rec Yards Avg TDs 2014 Ohio 10 160 785 4.9 7 21 133 6.3 3 2015 Ohio 13 151 691 4.5 6 12 74 6.2 0 2016 Ohio 1 3 45 15.0 0 0 0 0 0 2017 Ohio 13 192 1,006 5.2 7 10 97 9.7 1 2018 Ohio 13 213 1,306 6.1 12 21 212 10.1 2 College totals 50 719 3,833 5.3 32 64 516 10.0 6

Career highlights

CFL 2× Grey Cup champion (2022, 2025) 2× CFL East All-Star (2022, 2023)

College First-team All-MAC (2018) Second-team All-MAC (2017) Two-time team captain. Rushed for 1,000 yards in 2017 and 2018. Honored by the touchdown Club of Columbus, 2015. In 2015 lead team in rush attempts and rushing yards. in 2014 was two-time MAC East Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 6 and 24). DXL Frisco Bowl Offensive MVP.

Personal life Ouellette was born to parents Phil and Jody Ouellette and has one older sister, Ashlie.