Jermarcus Hardrick

Jermarcus "Yoshi" Hardrick (born May 30, 1990) is a professional gridiron football offensive lineman for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[1] He is a Grey Cup champion as a member of the 107th Grey Cup champions and was a West Division All-Star in 2017.[2] He played college football for the Fort Scott Greyhounds before joining the Nebraska Cornhuskers for two years to finish his college playing eligibility.[3]

Jemarcus Hardrick
No. 51     Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Nickname(s)Yoshi
Born: (1990-05-30) May 30, 1990
Batesville, Mississippi
Career information
StatusActive
CFL statusAmerican
Position(s)Offensive lineman
Height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight311 lb (141 kg)
CollegeFort Scott
Nebraska
High schoolSouth Panola
Career history
As player
2012Tampa Bay Buccaneers*
2012New Orleans Saints*
2013Utah Blaze
2014BC Lions
2015Tampa Bay Storm
2015Saskatchewan Roughriders
2016–presentWinnipeg Blue Bombers
*Offseason or practice squad only
Career highlights and awards
CFL West All-Star2017
Career stats
Games played87
Games started85

Professional career

NFL

Hardrick was originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on May 07, 2012.[4] He played in three preseason games, but was released with the final cuts on August 31, 2012.[5][4] He later signed a practice roster agreement on November 21, 2012 with the New Orleans Saints and was not re-signed during the following off-season.[4]

BC Lions

Hardrick signed a practice roster agreement with the BC Lions on July 15, 2014 and played in his first CFL game on July 19, 2014 against the Montreal Alouettes.[1][6] The following week, he made his first career start on July 25, 2014 in a game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[2] During the 2014 season, he played in 12 games for the Lions and started in 10 of them.[2] He was released by the Lions on April 29, 2015.[7]

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On June 18, 2015, it was announced that Hardrick had signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders just prior to the team's second preseason game.[7][8] He was released shortly after, but was signed to the team's practice roster on August 20, 2015.[7] 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.[7] He dressed and started in eight games to end the 2015 season.[2] He was released by the Roughriders on February 16, 2016.[9]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

One day after his release from the Roughriders, Hardrick signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on February 17, 2016.[10] 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.[2] He also started a trend for home games at IG Field when the lineman, weighing 314 pounds (142 kg), jumped into the stands following a touchdown, and the crowd celebration would become known as the "Hardrick Hop" or "Hardrick Leap".[11]

In 2017, Hardrick started all 18 regular season games at right tackle and was named a CFL West All-star.[12] He signed a one-year contract extension at the end of the season on November 16, 2017.[13] For the 2018 season, he missed three games due to injury, but started in the other 15 regular season games.[2] He started in both of the Blue Bomber's playoff games, as Winnipeg lost the West Final to the Calgary Stampeders.[2] He signed a one-year extension on November 28, 2018.[14]

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.[2][15] He also started in all three of the Blue Bombers' post-season games and he won his first Grey Cup championship in 107th Grey Cup victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.[16] In the following off-season, Hardrick signed a one-year extension on December 14, 2019 to play with the team for the 2020 season.[16] However, the 2020 CFL season was cancelled, so he signed another one-year extension on December 30, 2020.[17]

Personal

Hardrick was born and grew up in the small town of Courtland, Mississippi, 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.[18] 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.[18] Hardrick's best friend growing up was a boy name Mario Lewis, because the two were always together, people began calling Hardrick "Yoshi", a reference to characters from the Super Mario World game, the two would later find out they were half-brothers.[18] He met his wife Samantha at the University of Nebraska where she was competing as a track athlete, together they have three children.[18]

References
  1. "Jemarcus Hardrick". Canadian Football League. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  2. "Jermarcus Hardrick". Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  3. "Former Huskers' Jermarcus "Yoshi" Hardrick Fulfills Dream, Becomes First-Generation Graduate". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
  4. "Jermarcus Hardrick". nfl.com. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  5. "Jermarcus Hardrick". tsn.ca. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  6. "Transactions – Football player trades and signings 2014". Canadian Football League. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  7. "Transactions – Football player trades and signings 2015". Canadian Football League. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  8. "Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Calgary Stampeders in second preseason game". Saskatchewan Roughriders. 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  9. "Transactions – Football player trades and signings 2016". Canadian Football League. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  10. "Bombers sign Jermarcus Hardrick, release Zach Anderson". Winnipeg Blue Bombers. 2016-02-17. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  11. Judy Owen (September 21, 2016). "Hulking offensive linemen find unique way to celebrate during Bombers' surge". CBC Manitoba. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  12. "Seven Bombers on West all-star team". Winnipeg Free Press. November 8, 2017. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  13. "Bombers Re-sign Offensive Linemen Patrick Neufeld and Jermarcus Hardrick". Winnipeg Blue Bombers. November 16, 2017.
  14. "Blue Bombers sign OT Hardrick to one-year extension". TSN. November 28, 2018.
  15. "2019 CFL statistics" (PDF). Canadian Football League. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  16. Ted Wyman (December 14, 2019). "Bombers re-sign veteran offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick". Winnipeg Sun.
  17. "Blue Bombers agree to terms with Jermarcus Hardrick". BlueBombers.com. December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  18. Ed Tait (May 7, 2019). "Long Read: The Other Side of Jermarcus Hardrick". Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
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