A. J. Ouellette (born July 20, 1995) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He has previously played for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

College career

Ouellette played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Ohio Bobcats The Ohio Bobcats are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I Intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio, United States. Ohio University is a charter member (1946 ...

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.

Awards and recognition

*Two time Team captain. *Rushed for 1,000 yards in 2017 and 2018. *Second Team All-MAC Offense 2017. *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.

College statistics

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

In May 2019, Ouellette signed with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. New Orleans waived Ouellette on May 28, 2019.

Cleveland Browns

On July 27, 2019, Ouellette signed with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. However, he was waived by Cleveland on August 31, 2019.

Toronto Argonauts

On September 17, 2019, it was announced that Ouellette had signed with the

. He played in his first career game on October 18, 2019, against the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

where he had four carries for 20 yards. In the following game, he recorded his first career touchdown on a 15-yard pass from

Dakota Prukop Dakota Prukop (born October 17, 1993) is an American former professional football quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for Montana State from ...

in a game against the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

on October 26, 2019. He played in three regular season games in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

where he had 23 carries for 114 yards and five receptions for 39 yards and one touchdown. Ouellette did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

, but signed a contract extension with the Argonauts on December 15, 2020. In

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, 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 The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

. Ouellette began the 2022 season on the injured list and played in just three of the team's first eight games as the back up running back. 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 The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

. He scored his first career rushing touchdown on September 10, 2022, in the victory over the Ottawa Redblacks. Ouellette finished the season having played in 13 regular season games carrying the ball 98 times for 516 yards with two touchdowns. He also caught 38 passes for 350 yards and a score. On February 11, 2023, Ouellette and the Argos agree to a contract extension. In

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, 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. He was named a CFL East All-Star for the second consecutive season. In the following off-season, he became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On February 13, 2024, the

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.

Professional statistics

Personal life

Ouellette was born to parents Phil and Jody Ouellette and has one older sister, Ashlie. Ouellette is married to Haley Ouellette.

References

External links

Saskatchewan Roughriders bio

Ohio Bobcats football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouellette, Aj 1995 births Living people American football running backs Canadian football running backs Players of American football from Ohio Players of Canadian football from Ohio Ohio Bobcats football players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Toronto Argonauts players New Orleans Saints players Cleveland Browns players