The Saskatchewan Roughriders produced a memorable season in 2024.
Let's take a look back at the top 10 moments from the first year under head coach Corey Mace.
In Lauther we trust: Brett’s rebound:
August 16, 2024, was the worst night in Brett Lauther’s kicking career. He converted 3-of-7 field goal attempts, including a potential game-tying kick as time expired, in a 27-24 loss to the Montreal Alouettes. Instead of shying away from a tough night kicking the ball, Lauther chose to sit in his stall, await the media and the scrutiny following his performance.
Lauther’s teammates came to his aid, sharing the blame for the loss, which, whether it was lip service or not, seemed to cement the bond that was forming with this current group.
The organization's top-to-bottom belief in Lauther was warranted, as he connected on his final 28-of-29 field goal attempts to finish the season. The lone blemish was a 60-yard field goal try in the Labour Day Classic.
Lauther would also be the only qualified kicker in the league to be perfect on all his convert attempts going 39-for-39.
Don’t judge a book by its cover – Ryquell Armstead runs away in Calgary:
Entering Week 15 of the Canadian Football League season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were mired in a seven-game winless streak. It's a stretch that would put a playoff spot in question, especially if the Riders hadn’t won five of their first six games to start the season.
Coming off a bye week, with prized free agent running back A.J. Ouellette still injured and the continuing injury woes of the Riders' offensive line, the team needed a spark. On September 16, the Green and White signed Armstead, who at the time had the fourth most rushing yards in the CFL, 623 on 125 carries, all with Ottawa. However, the Redblacks had released Armstead 13 days earlier in what head coach Bob Dyce called a move that was "in the best interests of the team.”
After signing just four days earlier, Armstead was in the starting lineup for the Riders in Calgary, knowing that they needed a win to keep the Stampeders in their rearview mirror in the West Division standings.
Armstead did not disappoint, showing humility, focus and attention to detail. The work paid off as he carried the ball 25 times for 207 yards, leading the Riders to a 37-29 victory—all but ending Calgary’s playoff hopes and springboarding Saskatchewan to an impressive stretch run.
A first for the second – Nelson Lokombo's first interception:
I’ve had the privilege to follow Nelson Lokombo since his arrival in Saskatchewan. In 2017, Lokombo joined the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. He arrived on the prairies from Abbotsford, B.C. a quiet yet highly skilled and intelligent athlete.
Through his three seasons at the U of S, Lokombo became a feared defender. He often faced the top receivers from the opposition in a shutdown role. In his final U Sports season, Lokombo was named a first-team All-Canadian and the top defensive player in Canadian university football.
After the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID, the Roughriders rewarded his play and potential, selecting him second overall in the 2021 CFL Draft. However, a ruptured Achilles would derail his rookie season before training camp even started.
In 2022, Lokombo earned a roster spot straight out of training camp and began his professional playing journey. That growth continued into 2023, when the injury bug again crept up on the then 24-year-old, forcing him to miss seven of the Riders' final eight games.
Fast-forward to 2024, when Lokombo took over the starting safety spot in the Riders' secondary in Week 2 and never looked back, starting there the rest of the season. The highlight was a fourth-quarter interception, his first in the CFL against Vernon Adams Jr. and Lokombo’s hometown B.C. Lions in the West Division Semi-Final.
Harris is precisely what the Riders ‘K’needed:
One question mark entering the season was quarterback Trevor Harris' health. After spending much of the offseason rehabbing a tibial plateau fracture in his right knee, the 38-year-old quarterback looked ready to go and grow with a new Marc Mueller-led offence.
That progress was stopped when Harris suffered an MCL sprain in his left knee during a Week 3 win over Hamilton. That injury kept Harris out of the lineup for six weeks. However, he never missed a practice, workout, or rehab session, pushing to be back in the lineup when his time on the six-game injured list expired.
That return would come in Week 10 against Montreal, a game the Riders lost 27-24 to the Alouettes despite Harris throwing for 355 yards and two touchdowns. Although Harris was never truly at 100 percent, he led the league in QB rating, earning himself a contract extension to remain in Riderville in 2025.
Game 150 is a first for Micah Johnson:
Very early in 2024, the leadership and character within the Roughriders' locker room was highly evident. New head coach Corey Mace introduced a standard of play, character, and accountability, establishing a new culture inside Mosaic Stadium.
One player quick to buy in was Johnson, a former teammate of Mace when they played together in Calgary. The relationship between the two was evident as Johnson flourished, leading the league in sacks midway through the season.
Johnson's standard and character were displayed in an August 3 game against Edmonton. That night, as the Riders hosted Edmonton, Johnson celebrated playing his 150th regular-season game. However, he wouldn’t spend the entire night in the defensive huddle. Late in the fourth quarter, Johnson slipped into an offensive lineman jersey, as one of his teammates could not continue in the game due to injury.
That was the first time that Johnson played on the offensive line but it wouldn’t be the last. During the Labour Day Classic against Winnipeg, Johnson played at right guard for most of the second half after injuries again sidelined a pair of offensive linemen.
Samuel’s part of the fab five – Emilus continues in rare company:
Throughout a season of offensive flux due to injury, receiver Samuel Emilus was a constant.
The 27-year-old from Montreal started all but one game for the Riders. He was a healthy scratch for the season finale against Calgary. In those 17 games, Emilus caught 87 passes for 1,064 yards and five touchdowns.
2024 was Emilus' second consecutive 1,000-yard season, cementing his spot among Rider receiving greats. Only four other Canadian receivers, Ray Elgaard, Chris Getzlaf, Jeff Fairholm, and Andy Fantuz, have recorded thousand-yard seasons.
In addition to Emilus’ consistency in catching the ball, his teammates were keenly aware of his physicality in blocking for the run game. He earned respect around the Canadian Football League for his play with and without the ball, and Saskatchewan’s nomination as the team's Most Outstanding Canadian.
The incredible dozen – Riders revolving door on the offensive line:
Heading into the 2024 campaign, vice president of football operations and general manager Jeremy O’Day committed to transforming the Riders' offensive line and adding depth to the position.
No one could have foreseen the depth that was required, as Saskatchewan had 12 different starting offensive linemen throughout the season and would not start the same five players in the same five spots more than three weeks in a row.
Trevor Reid, Phillip Blake, Peter Godber, Logan Ferland, Jermarcus Hardrick, Ryan Sceviour, Jacob Brammer, Brandon Council, Nick Jones, Zack Fry, Trevon Tate, and Noah Zerr all drew into the starting line-up at some point during the season.
Incredible when you consider that Saskatchewan allowed the fourth-fewest sacks (35) in the CFL.
M-zero-P: Rolan Milligan Junior:
The 2024 Roughriders season had a distinct tone of resiliency and resurgence -- no better example than defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr.
After missing most of the 2023 season, Milligan Jr. seemed to have something to prove, and the third year Rider did just that. The 30-year-old led the CFL with eight interceptions, equalled his personal best with 71 defensive tackles and recorded 111 defensive plays to rank fifth in that category league-wide. He also was integral in a Riders defence that led the league in turnovers with 49.
In addition to his dominance on defence, Milligan recorded the third-most special teams tackles in the league with 20.
Milligan Jr.'s play didn’t go unnoticed as a vocal campaign began for the five-foot-11, 200-pound cover man to be named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player. Unfortunately, the vocal support didn’t translate into the MOP award. Instead, Milligan became just the third Roughrider to be named the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player, joining John Chick (2009) and Jearald Baylis (1993).
Caging the Lions – regular season edition:
The Roughriders most crucial game of the regular season was their Week 19 meeting against B.C.
The stakes for the October 12 contest were clear: the winner would host a playoff game -- a huge advantage for both teams. After winning the opening coin toss, the Riders elected to defer their choice to the second half, resulting in B.C. taking the first possession.
On that series, the game would forever turn in the Riders' favour, on the second play from scrimmage A.J. Allen intercepted a deflected ball, including off the intended target William Stanback’s heel, and return it to the end zone.
The Riders would never look back, scoring a 39-8 victory over the Leos, securing a home playoff game for the first time since 2021.
The standard is always the standard -- Corey Mace:
On November 30, 2023, the Saskatchewan Roughriders made Corey Mace the 48th head coach in team history.
Mace’s enthusiasm has been contagious since his first meeting with the media in front of Rider Nation. That enthusiasm never waivered nor did his belief in the foundation that he wanted to build for the Riders.
One main pillar of that foundation was accountability for maintaining the standard. While most of the accountability measures were managed in-house, out of the eyes of fans and media, two particular instances were very public and exhibited the standard for all to see.
On the third day of training camp in Saskatoon, after repeated offsides, pre-snap penalties and emotions that came to a boil with punches thrown, Mace stopped the practice and forced the entire team to run sprints. The practice promptly resumed with the focus on the standard restored.
The second instance was on September 17. The Riders had just returned from a bye week after a Labour Day rematch loss in Winnipeg, which saw their winless streak reach seven games. The Roughriders were preparing for a pivotal match-up in Calgary, where playoff positioning was on the line.
That Tuesday morning, Mace wasn’t happy with his team's attention to detail, performance or execution during their day two of on-field preparation. After having already stopped the practice once to refocus his squad, Mace called the team off the field for a closed-door meeting inside the locker room, away from the media and fans in attendance.
The captains led the team back out on the field to complete their on-field work. Following that refocus, the Riders continually met the standard, winning four of their last five regular-season games, securing a home playoff game, and coming a win away from playing for the Grey Cup.
