Josh Woods already boasts the second-highest single-season interception-return yardage total of any Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker.
And the team is only five games into its 2026 season.
Woods helped the Roughriders improve their record to 4-1 by registering a 107-yard pick six in Sunday’s 38-7 CFL victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Mosaic Stadium.
At the same venue on June 26, his 19-yard interception return had extinguished a promising drive by the Toronto Argonauts. He made that pick on the goal line.
Most recently, he stepped in front of a Jake Dolegala pass at the three-yard line — not far from where he had intercepted Toronto’s Chad Kelly — and was off to the races down the east sideline, with assistance from a key block by Antoine Brooks Jr.
“The energy in the stadium was awesome,” said Woods, who spent his previous five CFL seasons with the B.C. Lions. “Being able to be a part of Rider Nation and be on this side of it and have them cheer for me and not boo me, it’s awesome.
“It’s so cool and I’m really glad to be here.”
The Roughriders are equally happy to have him in the lineup.
Released by the Lions on Dec. 22, he signed with Saskatchewan on Feb. 4 and was ultimately presented with the considerable challenge of succeeding A.J. Allen — now of the Ottawa REDBLACKS — at weak-side linebacker.
Woods has responded with 27 defensive tackles, a total that ties him for ninth in the league, and both the Roughriders’ interceptions.
On top of that, he now owns the third-longest interception return in franchise history. Bruce Bennett (1972) and current Roughriders cornerback Tevaughn Campbell (2025) had 112-yarders that, like Woods’ 107-yard sprint, went from north to south at the Roughriders’ home facility.
Woods, incidentally, set a Roughriders record for the longest interception return by a linebacker. The top 10 is as follows:
107 — Josh Woods versus Hamilton, July 12, 2026 (TD).
103 — Samuel Eguavoen at Winnipeg, Sept. 8, 2018 (TD).
85 — Antoine Brooks Jr. at Ottawa, Oct. 3, 2025 (TD).
65 — John Wozniak versus Edmonton, Oct. 3, 1953.
65 — Cleveland Vann versus B.C., Oct. 30, 1977.
58 — Dan Rashovich versus Winnipeg, Sept. 4, 1994 (TD).
55 — Bill Manchuk at Hamilton, July 30, 1980 (TD).
54 — Roger Goree versus B.C., Oct. 28, 1979.
54 — Derrick Moncrief versus B.C., Aug. 13, 2017.
53 — Matt Elam versus Winnipeg, Sept. 2, 2018.
As well, Woods has quickly become one of only five linebackers in Roughriders history with 100-plus interception-return yards in a season.
130 — Eddie Lowe, 1990.
126 — Josh Woods, 2026.
107 — Jackie Mitchell, 2003.
103 — Tommie Smith, 1996.
103 — Samuel Eguavoen, 2018.
The pick-six was Woods’ second in the CFL. The previous interception-return touchdown, a 46-yarder, was also against Hamilton — for the visiting Lions on Oct. 13, 2023.
That interception was at the expense of future Canadian Football Hall of Famer Bo Levi Mitchell. With Mitchell sidelined by a recent ankle injury that required surgery, Dolegala made his first start as a Tiger-Cat on Sunday.
When Woods picked off Dolegala and went the distance, the 28-year-old linebacker became the 629th player to cross the goal line for the Roughriders or Regina Rugby Club, dating back to 1910.
Few of those players, however, had had to play in conditions that rivalled those of Sunday. The temperature soared to 35 degrees in the hottest Roughriders home game since 1952.
What was it like to run 107 yards — in full equipment — during such a scorcher?
“I’m from southern California, so I’m used to two-a-days in 115 Fahrenheit,” the former UCLA Bruins standout replied. “In Celsius, that’s 40-something, so I’m kind of used to that. But I’m not used to running that far.”
The interception return was the second-longest by a linebacker in CFL history.
The Calgary Stampeders’ Keon Raymond scored on a 117-yarder against Saskatchewan on Aug. 12, 2011. Raymond was listed as a defensive back in his first two CFL seasons (2008 and 2009) before moving to the strong side — a coverage-oriented linebacking position that often requires the skills of a defensive back.
Raymond played at 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds. Woods is 6-2, 234.
