‘I want to be No. 1’: Hughes climbing all-time sacks list

Charleston Hughes finds himself at No. 8 on the all-time CFL sacks list, but he’s not satisfied with his current position.

“It feels good to be top 10, but when it’s all said and done, I want to be No. 1,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive end said.

“I can feel it happening, I can feel it’s going to come and I’ve just got to keep building, keep working hard, keep preparing myself and stay healthy.”

Hughes has recorded 129 sacks during his 12-year CFL career and 2019 is turning into one of his best seasons yet.

The 35-year-old leads the league with 15 sacks in 12 games played, only three sacks shy of his career high mark of 18 set in 2013. Hughes will be looking to add to his total with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visiting Mosaic Stadium on Saturday for a 5 p.m., start.

“I feel like this is probably the best that I’ve played in my career and with the amount of games that I have left,” Hughes said.

“I’ve been feeling good. My body feels great. I’ve been feeling like I’m on a team that’s a very elite team. (With) the dynamic of how the league is right now, you feel like you have to play at a high level at all times so I felt like I needed to up my game somehow.”

The only time Hughes has missed this season was the Roughriders’ 27-25 win over the Montreal Alouettes on Sept. 14, because the coaching staff decided it would be beneficial for him to have a game off.

“It was one of those things where I just had to accept it and take a backseat for a game and try to come back fresh after that,” Hughes said.

In the next game after the win over Montreal, Hughes recorded two sacks against the Toronto Argonauts in a 41-16 victory.

“That was a little bit of a rested Charleston; he’s motivated every week,” defensive co-ordinator Jason Shivers said. “He’s a great competitor, he comes to play every week so you don’t have to worry about Charleston. He’s going to be up and ready to go on game day.”

Hughes has also been making a mark in the locker room with younger players. Head coach Craig Dickenson said Hughes has been one of their leaders throughout the season.

“I’ve always kind of taken on that mentorship role,” Hughes said. “A lot of my teammates are already calling me a coach but I’m just a player and I’m just helping out and trying to get the best out of any player.

“I’m just trying to do the best I can to make as many plays and show them how I’m making the plays on the field the best I can.”

With Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and the Calgary Stampeders all having nine wins heading into Saturday, Hughes knows it’s an important matchup this weekend.

“I feel like this is a playoff game,” Hughes said. “It’s one of those games where it’s going to come down to us, Calgary and Winnipeg to be the No. 1 team and it’s going to be a battle until the end of the season.”