Call him what you want: Tommy Stevens runs through teams, closes out wins for Saskatchewan Roughriders

Photo courtesy: Saskatchewan Roughriders/Electric Umbrella/Liam Richards.

Tommy Stevens does not care what people call him.

“I had a buddy tell me one time that he tried picking his own nickname,” Stevens said. “I remember we were in high school and we made fun of him for a long time for trying to pick his own nickname, so whatever people want to call me, I’m happy with, but I will not have a say in it. It’s whatever you guys want.”

When the six-foot-four, 245-pound athlete enters the football game for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, franchise quarterback Trevor Harris calls it “Tommy Time.” Star running back A.J. Ouellette called him the “closer of the century.”

“Everybody on the field, when he’s out there, everybody on the sideline, I’m starting to figure out everybody in the stands, whoever’s playing the Stone Cold Steve Austin song after he goes out there, everybody loves when Tommy gets out there, and I’m included,” head coach Corey Mace said.

Stevens ran the ball eight times for 54 yards and scored two touchdowns against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a 38-7 Week 6 win. With less than two minutes left in the game, the 29-year-old ripped off a 26-yard run and finished the two-play drive with a 14-yard touchdown burst following Ouellette straight up the middle.

“He’s a beast,” Ouellette said. “I don’t know how people attack him carrying the ball, that’s a terrifying creature.”

“It looks like a bunch of dogs,” Emilus said, describing the feel of the huddle when Stevens enters the game. “You could see the energy in the offensive line, they turn into monsters and want to start that bully game, that’s exactly what they did.”

Stevens’ first touchdown in the fourth quarter came after strong-side linebacker Antoine Brooks Jr. forced a fumble off Kenny Lawler and veteran defensive back Marcus Sayles recovered the football and stepped out at the one-yard line. Sayles thought he made it to the end zone for a defensive touchdown, but Mace has an interesting theory.

“I think (Stevens is) secretly paying players in the locker room to get down at the one-yard line because, I’m telling you, I don’t know how this keeps working out for the guy,” Mace said.

Through five games in 2026, Stevens has 25 carries for 109 yards with five touchdowns, which includes two games with two majors. He’s averaging 4.3 yards per carry and become even more of an offensive weapon for offensive coordinator Marc Mueller to utilize.

“Smash mouth football. Tommy, he’s big. He’s fast, he’s faster than he should be for his size,” Harris said. “Our offensive line loves it because they know it’s time, they’re going to play nine-man boxes, and they’re going to be downhill. Tommy loves it.”

“Doing those plays, you get basically 12-on-12 football. Add an extra hat in the run game with the running back being the lead blocker, essentially,” Stevens explained. “So it allows us to manipulate defences. In theory, you gotta make one guy miss, so that would be my guy. I thought we did a really good job up front giving me the opportunity to get loose.”

Tommy Time has turned into closing time as Stevens has played an integral role in finishing off wins in back-to-back weeks for Saskatchewan.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-1) are entering a bye week.

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