“I’m sure I’m going to have it yelled at me from the stands…wrong.”
Austin James Thomas Ouellette – A.J. to friends – is becoming a household name to CFL fans; even if many of them don’t know how to pronounce it properly.
The Toronto Argonauts running back listened to people use the French-Canadian pronunciation for the first two years of his career, until a funny thing happened during the Argos pre-season game against Hamilton.
His mother-in-law happened to be watching the on-line broadcast and reached out to the team’s play-by-play voice (who coincidently wrote this article) via Twitter to say the name was being mispronounced.
He didn’t say anything for two years because he really didn’t care.
In Canada the name is normally pronounced ooh-LET, but in Ohio they say o-LET, almost like he’s Irish.
Needless to say, when the Argos play Saturday in La Belle Province, those shouting it from the stands will likely be leaning toward the Quebecois version.
Ouellette began his football odyssey as a kid growing up in Covington, Ohio; a 15-minute drive north of Dayton, the same distance east of the Indiana border. He starred at Covington High School, where the stocky ball carrier set school records with a 353-yard game, a 2,535-yard season, and four straight league championships.
From there he stayed in-state by going to Ohio University, where he made the team as a walk-on, then shared the starting backfield with Oakville’s Nathan Rourke, who began the 2022 season tearing up the CFL with the B.C. Lions before suffering an injury.
Ouelllette then signed with the New Orleans Saints, before being released and catching on with the Cleveland Browns, where he was one of the final training camp cuts in 2019.
Two weeks later he signed in Toronto, rushing for 114 yards in his CFL debut. In 2021 he found himself behind John White and D.J. Foster; this year the Argos signed Andrew Harris as their starting running back.
Finding himself beneath someone on the depth chart seems to be the norm for Ouellette, who was on and off the Argos roster this year before Harris was injured. He has not looked out of place since taking over for the prized free agent.
“It’s a roller-coaster ride,” he said of his pro football experience. “No matter where I’ve been, there are extreme highs and extreme lows. The highs definitely outweigh the lows, especially with the sport that you love. I’m happy that the highs right now are with the Argos and these great teammates that I have.”
Those warm feelings are reciprocated. Teammates feed off Ouellette’s attention to detail and his passion for working out. Fans love him for his talent and his unrelenting style of running.
Ouellette is the kind of player who finds a way to get his uniform dirty before the game starts and spends the next three hours giving every ounce of energy he has.
It’s that kind of all-out effort on every snap that has made the 27-year old a fan favourite.
“That (style of play) started early,” he recalled. “I had a great group of dads who were coaches in youth football. They did a great job in cheering on hard work and people doing it the right way; rather than the guys trying to make sure they look good. Just go out there and do your job and you’re going to look good.
Part of his responsibility is blocking, a skill that Ouellette really began to appreciate as while starting on the varsity high-school team as a freshman. He understands that keeping the quarterback upright and healthy is essential to a team’s offensive, and therefore overall success.
The 5’9”, 208-pound running back’s blocking skills may go unappreciated by the average fan, but not by those with a keen eye. It’s rare that a block is highlighted on social media as much as his pancaking of former teammate Treston Decoud last week when the Argos beat the Elks in Edmonton.
It turned out to be a game where he not only accomplished that feat of skill and strength, but Ouellette later scored the game-winning touchdown on a 25-yard run in the game’s final minute. Argonauts.ca wanted to know which of those two plays was more rewarding to him; the block or the TD run.
He smiled broadly when given that choice.
“I’m going to say it was definitely the block. Winning the game is great, but you know (placekicker Boris) Bede would have won it for us. The block quiets the DBs (defensive backs) down. DBs like to talk, but if you can get them to be quiet, when you’re in their heads, it’s just smooth sailing from there.”
It’s that type of mentality – he’s happier about a play that’s usually underappreciated than a more glorified game winning sprint – that makes him a fan favourite.
But it’s far from the only reason.
Maybe it’s the running style. Perhaps it’s his long hair, or a beard that would be the envy of hipsters and hermits alike.
When asked why Ouellette thinks Argo fans have developed such an affinity for him, he thought about it for a few seconds before answering.
“My style of playing football is a great way to get ahead in life, so they can connect the hard work it takes to get somewhere in life.”
This was becoming a much deeper answer than expected.
“It’s the hard work that I put onto the field. It’s not always flashy; you’re going to get dirty, you’re going to get bumps and bruises, but you just get back up and you keep on going.”
He knows he’s received a lot of love from the fan base and was quick to point out that he wanted to send it right back to them.
That sense of appreciation is another reason why the love-in with Ouellette is blossoming as strongly as it is.