Mario Anderson Jr. takes advantage of second stint with Riders

Just a few weeks ago, Mario Anderson Jr. was coaching high school football and working in a barber shop.

Days ago, he scored twice for the Saskatchewan Roughriders — his first two rushing touchdowns as a pro.

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“It meant everything. The first one in the books but a lot of room for improvement, and watch over the film,” the Riders running back said. “Just being able to be great every single day and learning the small, finer details.”

Anderson had made the team following training camp but was released shortly after the team signed veteran Ka’Deem Carey. After Carey suffered a serious leg injury, Anderson was brought back to the team.

“He’s calmed down a little bit. Any time you have a rookie coming in and just trying to figure things out, just slow things down and not get too far ahead of yourself,” said running backs coach Andrew Harris. “He’s always been a guy who can run the ball well but how is he in protections and running routes and understanding what the whole offence is doing.

“That’s the big thing I’ve seen — the more confidence in him the past couple of weeks.”

Harris even admitted he is a guy in the offence that he has been advocating for to see more touches in the games.

“We let him go for a while there and as soon as the opportunity was there to have someone back, he was the number one guy I wanted back,” Harris said.

Anderson said as a competitor, he wants to strive to be the best.

“Just taking the back seat and knowing my role for right now and executing at a high level for my role, that’s the biggest thing along with being a good teammate,” Anderson said. “That’s all I can control right now but hopefully whenever those touches do come, I’m able to execute the way I know I can.”

Along with starter AJ Ouellette, the Riders were able to use a strong rushing attack to beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 34-30 in the Labour Day Classic. Along with his two touchdowns, Anderson had 34 yards, while Ouellette added his own score to go along with 89 yards.

The Riders will look to head into the rematch in Winnipeg searching for a win on Saturday. The Riders haven’t won in Winnipeg since 2018, going 0-9 since their last victory.

Kickoff for the game is set for 2 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at noon.

Anderson, who played college ball in 2023 with the South Carolina Gamecocks in the SEC, knows how intense rivalry games can be on the road.

“I know it’s going to be loud (in Winnipeg), the same as it was here but now it’s going to be against us. That’s all I can expect — just go out there and play under the pressure,” Anderson said.

Ahead of the game, safety Jaxon Ford (knee) was added to the injury report on Thursday. He is listed as questionable for the game.