REGINA — When the Saskatchewan Roughriders made their seventh-round selection in the 2024 Canadian Football League Draft, little did the team know they’d be choosing a player who would become one of the biggest fan favourites in the coming season.

Usually a draft spot for players with marginal chances to play in the league, all being selected 59th overall did was put a chip on receiver Ajou Ajou’s shoulder. He went out and played the kind of style that attracted plenty of attention not only from his coaches and teammates but also from supporters of the Green and White.

Now, Ajou’s No. 80 jersey is one of the most popular in The Rider Store and there’s little question he’ll be a player many will be keeping a close eye on in 2025 — with fans who see the Brooks, Alta. product around Regina these days making sure he knows it.

“Every single day. Like, every single day. It’s insane,” Ajou said with a laugh during an interview on The SportsCage, adding that a recent visit to the Roughriders merchandise outlet left him taken aback that not only was his jersey available, but in multiple variants. “It’s a dream come true. And it’s so surreal to me. I used to dream of this, I used to dream of this stuff and now it’s happening.”

It all started on that day last spring when the Roughriders used one of their final picks to select Ajou out of Garden City Community College, following previous seasons at Clemson University and the University of South Florida.

Ajou had hoped to go much higher but injury issues in previous campaigns caused his stock drop. Still, that didn’t make it any less special when the call from the Roughriders finally came.

“I started crying right away,” Ajou said. “Especially cause I knew who was drafting me. Like Coach Mace? Yeah. I was like, hell yeah, y’all don’t know what you just did. Especially letting me go all the way to the seventh.”

That put the aforementioned chip on Ajou’s shoulder and he went to work.

“It’s pretty big. Not as big as a Dorito chip, but it’s big though,” Ajou said. “And it fuels me still, like I’d be working out or waking up 6 a.m., I’m cooking some breakfast, I go to the gym and I’m like ‘seventh round, y’all crazy, crazy!’”

That extra motivation included doing whatever was asked of him. And while he’d put together a decent showing catching passes, with 20 receptions for 307 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games, it was his work away from the ball that made Ajou an even more valuable asset.

“I mean, blocking, there’s not much to it,” he said. “[Clemson head] coach [Dabo] Sweeney used to say this all the time, blocking is 90 percent want to and 10 percent technique. You just got to want to go out there, smash your face through somebody else’s. And you got to want to block for your brother. That’s all it is.

“Especially dropping to the seventh round, I already have so much to prove and that was the first conversation coach Mace had with me. He’s like ‘You got to block. You got to show us. You got to show us that you want to be here. Do the little things.’ And those are the little things. People take that for granted but I feel like I was able to showcase that I can block and do this.”

Of course, all the heart and desire in the world doesn’t matter in football without the support of teammates. To that end, Ajou had plenty of help as he navigated the CFL waters as a rookie, something he most certainly appreciates.

“It was the whole team,” he said. “The brotherhood that coach Mace established from the get-go, he laid the foundation. He was like, ‘yo, this is what it is and if you don’t like it, get lost’. And everybody was just like, ‘yeah, let’s go’.” From Sam [Emilus] to Kian Schaffer-Baker to [Trevor Harris], even some guys who aren’t even here anymore.”

And, of course, when the team’s top players at his position have something to say, it’s definitely time to pay attention.

“KeeSean Johnson, he’s been through so much and he’s been where I want to be. The advice he gives me, I listen. And it works. So I’m like, I just gotta listen.”

Unfortunately, Ajou wasn’t able to show his maximum potential due to a knee injury late in the season that brought his campaign to an end. He finished playing a total of 12 games during the 2024 campaign.

That’s led to an off-season of hard work, with a focus on being even better when things kick off in next season.

“This off-season, I’m trying to focus on me, I’m trying to get righteous,” Ajou said. “I’m trying to make sure that when I come back next year, you guys are ‘whoa, this is not the same Ajou that we saw. And the other Ajou we saw was crazy’… I’m in great spirits right now. And I’m gonna be back and better than ever. I’m steady working, steady working. So yeah, woo, 2025, baby!”