Former Riders Hughes, Joseph get their just desserts

The news that Neal Hughes was going into the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Plaza of Honour got a cool reception in his Regina household in June.

“After I told (my nine-year-old son), ‘Dad’s going into this special thing called the Plaza of Honour; it’s like the Riders’ Hall of Fame,’ he was like, ‘Oh. Cool. Dad, can I have a freezie?’ ” Hughes, 39, recalled with a laugh Thursday. “Oh. Nice. That kind of put things in perspective for me.

“But it’s pretty cool to have our family name set in stone for a long time.”

Hughes and his former teammate, Kerry Joseph, were inducted into the Plaza of Honour on Thursday night. The ceremony took place at Mosaic Stadium.

Hughes spent 11 seasons (2004-14) with the CFL’s Roughriders as a fullback and special-teamer. Joseph had stints as Saskatchewan’s quarterback in three seasons (2006-07, 2014).

“(Going into the Plaza of Honour) is a happy moment,” Joseph, a 46-year-old product of Greenwood, S.C., said Thursday. “It’s really starting to hit me.

“I haven’t had a lot of time to reflect on it over the last month because, with me coaching college football in the States and things getting heated up for us right now, my days have been long. Now that I’m away for a few days, just flying in here, I kind of got emotional.

“My wife was like, ‘You OK?’ and I was like, ‘This is really happening.’ ”

Hughes grew up in Regina, so his dreams of playing with the Roughriders started early. He admitted Thursday he was doing everything he could to keep his nerves from getting the better of him.

“I’m thinking of all those days of playing football in the park when I was young and dreaming about playing for the Riders or going to games and watching players play on the field and meeting some of my favourite players at the Labour Day autograph day,” Hughes said.

“To be one of those guys now, it’s hard to wrap my head around.”

Hughes starred at Regina’s Thom Collegiate and with the junior Regina Rams. When the Rams moved to the university ranks, Hughes went along — and he left the program with multiple school records.

But he wasn’t selected in the 2004 CFL draft, forcing him to sign as a free agent with the Roughriders.

On Thursday, he recalled then-head coach Danny Barrett saying he was giving Hughes one more chance to put on the pads. Hughes made the team, played 11 seasons, won two Grey Cups — and made it into the Plaza of Honour.

“I’m absolutely thankful he said that because it did provide me with motivation,” Hughes said. “It showed me what it takes to make it in the pros.

“It took me five weeks to get on the roster (in 2004) but each and every week and every day, I learned how to be a pro.”

Joseph was a pro before joining the Roughriders.

He had played in the NFL before signing with the Ottawa Renegades in 2003. His Roughriders career began in 2006, when he was the first pick in the Renegades dispersal draft.

In 2007, he helped Saskatchewan win the Labour Day Classic with a 27-yard quarterback draw for a game-winning touchdown in a 31-26 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Saskatchewan went on to win the ’07 Grey Cup — the franchise’s first championship since 1989 — and Joseph was named the CFL’s most outstanding player.

“You just had that feel going into training camp (in 2007) that everybody believed we had an opportunity to do something special,” he recalled. “As the games went on, one of the defining moments was the Labour Day Classic.

“Having that game and feeling that energy and the momentum turn in our favour, we knew right then and there we could pretty much win any game we put our mind to. From there, everything just took off.”

Hughes, in fact, said Joseph should be credited with the run of on-field and financial success the franchise has had since 2007.

“I started in ’04 and we were slowly on the incline,” Hughes said. “But then after that Labour Day game, things just sparked for everybody. Kerry was the match that lit that fire.”

Joseph’s career ended on a sour note — he threw five interceptions in his final game with Saskatchewan in 2014 — but he said he now uses that as a teaching tool when he’s coaching.

He looks back at his Roughriders career fondly, suggesting things “worked out in my favour.” He’s also grateful for the fact he had a positive impact on the team and the province.

On Thursday, Joseph walked into new Mosaic Stadium for the first time and accepted the accolades from fans, some of whom believe he helped lay the groundwork for getting the facility built.

The Plaza of Honour is the icing on the cake.

“For me,” Joseph said, “it puts a bow on my career as a Rider and my career as a CFL player.”

— With files from 980 CJME’s Britton Gray