Jermarcus "Yoshi" Hardrick (born May 30, 1990) 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 ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

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 is a

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

champion as a member of the

107th Grey Cup The 107th Grey Cup decided the champion of the 2019 season in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The match was played on November 24, 2019, between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta. Win ...

champions and is a two-time West Division All-Star receiving the honour in 2017 and 2021. He 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

Fort Scott Greyhounds The Fort Scott Greyhounds are the sports teams of Fort Scott Community College located in Fort Scott, Kansas, United States. They participate in the National Junior College Athletic Association and in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conferen ...

before joining the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

for two years to finish his college playing eligibility.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Hardrick was originally signed as an

undrafted 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 ...

with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

on May 7, 2012. He played in three preseason games, but was released with the final cuts on August 31, 2012.

New Orleans Saints

Hardrick later signed a practice roster agreement on November 21, 2012, 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 ...

and was not re-signed during the following off-season.

Utah Blaze

Hardrick then spent one season in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL), playing for the

Utah Blaze The Utah Blaze was a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competed in the West Division of the Arena Football League. Home games were played at the EnergySolutions Arena. In 2013, the team did not submit proper ...

BC Lions

Hardrick signed a practice roster agreement with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

on July 15, 2014, and played in his first CFL game on July 19, 2014, 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 ...

. The following week, he made his first career start on July 25, 2014, in a game against the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. During the 2014 season, he played in 12 games for the Lions and started in 10 of them. He was released by the Lions on April 29, 2015.

Tampa Bay Storm

After being released, Hardrick returned to the AFL with the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

, joining them on June 5, 2015, but stayed with the team for only two games. On June 18, 2015, it was announced that Hardrick had signed with the

just prior to the team's second preseason game.

Saskatchewan Roughriders (first stint)

Hardrick was released shortly after, but was signed to the team's practice roster on August 20, 2015. He was promoted to the active roster for the September 6, 2015 game against the Blue Bombers where the Roughriders earned their first win of a difficult season. He dressed and started in eight games to end the 2015 season. He was released by the Roughriders on February 16, 2016.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

One day after his release from the Roughriders, Hardrick signed with the

on February 17, 2016. For the 2016 season, he played and started in 16 regular season games as the Blue Bombers qualified for the playoffs for the first time since

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. He also started a trend for home games at

IG Field Princess Auto Stadium (formerly IG Field) is an outdoor stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The stadium, which opened in 2013, is located on the University of Manitoba campus next to University Stadium. The stadium is home to the Winnipeg Blue Bombe ...

when the lineman, weighing , jumped into the stands following a touchdown. The crowd celebration would become known as the "Hardrick Hop" or " Hardrick Leap". In

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, Hardrick started all 18 regular season games at

right tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

and was named a CFL West All-star. He signed a one-year contract extension at the end of the season on November 16, 2017. For the 2018 season, he missed three games due to injury, but started in the other 15 regular season games. He started in both of the Blue Bomber's playoff games, as Winnipeg lost the West Final to 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 signed a one-year extension on November 28, 2018. The 2019 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season saw Hardrick start at right tackle for all 18 regular season games as the team led the league in rushing yards. He also started in all three of the Blue Bombers' post-season games and he won his first

championship in

victory over 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 ...

. In the following off-season, Hardrick signed a one-year extension on December 14, 2019, to play with the team for the 2020 season. However, 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 ...

was cancelled, so he signed another one-year extension on December 30, 2020. Hardrick again anchored the right side of the line as Winnipeg went on to led the CFL in wins during the regular season. They would defeat Saskatchewan in the semi-finals to go to a Grey Cup rematch with Hamilton. In the 2021 Grey Cup the Bombers trailed 22-10 but Hardrick helped build a clean pocket as the Bombers would come back to win 33-25 in overtime for their second Grey Cup championship in a row. For his great play throughout the season, Hardrick was named a CFL All-Star and CFL West All-Star for the first time in his career. Hardrick then signed a one-year contract extension at $150,000 for the year to stay in Winnipeg for the

2022 CFL season The 2022 CFL season was the 68th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 64th season of the Canadian Football League. The regular season began on June 9 and ended on October 29, with 18 games played per team over 21 week ...

. Hardrick 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 (second stint)

On February 5,

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, during the CFL's Free Agency communication window, it was reported that once the free agent market officially opens on February 13, Hardrick would be signing a two-year contract with the

. On February 13, the Roughriders confirmed that Hardrick had signed a two-year contract with the team.

Personal life

Hardrick was born and grew up in the small town of

Courtland, Mississippi Courtland is a town in Panola County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 511 at the time of the 2010 census. History Courtland, Mississippi was incorporated as a town on March 30, 1871. On July 17, 1946, acting Governor Fielding L. W ...

, population 350. The town was very small and did not have a lot of opportunity for its residents, the town had no paved roads, aside from the highway, and most residents lived in trailers. His birth father went to prison when Hardrick was three, he had fathered 17 children in Courtland with different women, and was rarely seen in his life. Hardrick's best friend growing up was a boy named Mario Lewis; because the two were always together, people began calling Hardrick "Yoshi", a reference to the characters

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

and

Yoshi Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in '' Super Mario World'' (1990) on the SNES as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Throughout the mainline '' Super Mario'' series, Yoshi typically serves ...

from the ''Mario'' franchise of video games. The two would later find out they were half-brothers. He met his wife Samantha at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

, where she was competing as a track athlete, and together they have three children, living at their home in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

during the off-season.

References

External links

Saskatchewan Roughriders bioNebraska Cornhuskers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardrick, Jemarcus Living people 1990 births American football offensive linemen Canadian football offensive linemen Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Sportspeople from Batesville, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi BC Lions players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Fort Scott Greyhounds football players Utah Blaze players Tampa Bay Storm players 21st-century African-American sportsmen Tampa Bay Buccaneers players New Orleans Saints players Players of Canadian football from Mississippi