A.J. Allen hopes there will eventually be an added significance to his uniform number.
Thirty-two also happens to be the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ single-season record for special teams tackles — set by Ray Bernard in 1992.
For the time being, the 25-year-old linebacker is chasing another numerical goal.
He hopes to soon give Saskatchewan a player with 20-plus special teams tackles in a season for the 26th time since that stat was first kept in 1984.
“That would be a huge deal to me personally,” says Allen, who has 17 special teams tackles — a total that ties him for fourth in the CFL — entering Friday’s road game against the B.C. Lions.
“To be a guard (on special teams) and to get 20 tackles is pretty cool, especially in my second year in the CFL.
“Special teams is something I’m very proud of and I always have been, so I think it would be real cool to get 20 in a season. I think it’s a good number to aim for.”
Even now, with 17 special teams tackles, Allen is in a 12-way tie for 36th in team history. Four regular-season games remain on the Roughriders’ 2023 schedule.
“(Twenty) is a tough number to hit,” Allen says. “Every team has a lot of dogs out there and they’re all trying to get as many tackles as possible.
“Right here, Kosi (Onyeka) is a tough one to beat each week, and he’s a gunner. I’m out here blocking tackles and defensive ends.”
Many of them have 40 or 50 pounds on the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Allen.
“That definitely makes it a little bit tougher,” he says with a chuckle. “You’ve got to block before you can go downfield and try to make tackles. There’s no point in trying to get tackles if the punt’s blocked.
“On kickoffs, it’s the same thing. You’ve got 11 other guys flying to the football, as fast as they can, while other guys are trying to knock your head off and stuff like that.
“Half the time, the return isn’t even going toward you, so there’s not a lot of opportunities. You just try to make the most of them.”
Allen has done just that, making 33 stops on defence in addition to excelling on the punt and kickoff coverage units.
“When the season began, I just wanted to be the best special teams player I could be,” he says. “As the games went on, I kept getting more and more and more (tackles).
“When you get this close to 20, why not? Why not reach the number? Once you get 20, you go for 25. Once you get 25, you go for 30.
“You just keep going up. The moment you hit one milestone, you go for another.”
MOST SPECIAL TEAMS TACKLES BY A ROUGHRIDER
Single Season
Ray Bernard, 1992 32
Dan Rashovich, 1987 30
Walter Spencer, 2005 29
Dan Rashovich, 1988 28
Walter Spencer, 2004 27
Steve Crane, 1987 25
Jerrell Freeman, 2009 25
Randy Srochenski, 2001 24
Denzel Radford, 2017 24
Brooks Findlay, 1996 23
Dan Rashovich, 1998 23
Kye Stewart, 2011 23
Alexandre Gagne, 2018 23
Dan Rashovich, 1991 22
Dan Rashovich, 1997 22
George White, 2000 22
Neal Hughes, 2006 22
Yannick Carter, 2007 22
Neal Hughes, 2007 21
Paul Woldu, 2013 21
John Hoffman, 1989 20
Dan Rashovich, 1992 20
Terrence Melton, 2002 20
Scott Gordon, 2004 20
Brian Peters, 2014 20
Steve Crane, 1986 19
Ron Goetz, 1994 19
Dustin Cherniawski, 2005 19
Alexandre Gagne, 2019 19
Eddie Lowe, 1986 18.5
Billy Jackson, 1986 18
Jeff Treftlin, 1988 18
Dustin Cherniawski, 2006 18
Rey Williams, 2008 18
Jeff Knox Jr., 2016 18
Brooks Findlay, 1993 17
Dan Rashovich, 1996 17
Dan Rashovich, 1999 17
Dennis Mavrin, 2004 17
Mike McCullough, 2004 17
James Patrick, 2009 17
Sam Hurl, 2012 17
