Redblacks continue to lock up Bob Dyce’s special teams unit; key contributor Shaheed Salmon re-signs alongside Norman and Texada

The Ottawa Redblacks have made their mark on special teams over the last few seasons. Special teams co-ordinator Bob Dyce has done a tremendous job working with the players that the front office brings to him, and has been doing so since he got the gig in 2016. Dyce started working with the Redblacks when he had the likes of Chris Milo, Ray Early, Zack Medeiros and Ronnie Pfeffer kicking the football, Tanner Doll snapping it and Jamill Smith, Tristan Jackson and Chris Williams leading the return team, and since he’s been with that group, players like Brett Maher, and Diontae Spencer have come through and made impacts, enough so to land NFL opportunities, and then the group that he has now came into the nation’s capital. Longsnapper L.P Bourassa landed the opportunity in Ottawa in 2017 after being drafted by the team, placekicker Lewis Ward was signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Ottawa in 2018, punter Richie Leone was signed after the 2017 CFL season that he spent in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals and return specialist DeVonte Dedmon came into Ottawa for training camp in 2019 and has stuck with the team since.

Those are the names that are spoke of the most when talking about the Redblacks’ special teams unit, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be talked about even more, because of the impacts they’ve made on this Ottawa Redblacks team as of recently, but there are also a number of other players that play into the impacts that they make. Richie Leone has been named a CFL all-star in each of the 3 seasons he’s spent with the Ottawa Redblacks, Lewis Ward has broken records for a single season field goal percentage and the longest streak of consecutive made field goals with 69 and DeVonte Dedmon was just named a CFL all-star after breaking his own record as the fastest player in CFL history to reach 5 kickoff return touchdowns, doing so in just 15 games, but these milestones would not have come easy without the help of the players around them.

Fortunately though, a lot of those players are here to stay with the Ottawa Redblacks. Earlier this off-season, and even during the 2021 CFL season, the Ottawa Redblacks front office prioritized bringing back the special teams unit for 2022. They announced that they signed contributors Nigel Romick, Brendan Gillanders, Marco Dubois, and Anthony Gosselin through 2022. Adding to the list on Thursday, they now have brought back an American trio of Shaheed Salmon, Dwayne Norman and Ranthony Texada.

Salmon has been with the Redblacks since 2019, and the Tampa, Florida-native has played in 17 of the 32 games he’s been around for, making 4 tackles on defence, 12 of special teams and forcing two fumbles over the two seasons. The 25 year old has been a major piece to the Redblacks special teams unit, always being there on key stops on both the punt and kickoff team in 2021 for Richie Leone, but now with more experience under his belt, there is a chance his role expands to the defensive side of the ball come 2022.

Like Salmon, 28 year old linebacker Dwayne Norman has made quite the impact for the Redblacks’ special teams unit in 2021 and may also see an expanded role when he is back in the nation’s capital for the 2022 CFL season. The Duke Blue Devils product has had an eventful professional career since going undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft. Having been picked up by both the Broncos and Raiders in the NFL, then playing a total 9 games with the Calgary Stampeders during the 2017, 2018 and 2019 CFL seasons. In the 9 games he made 6 special teams tackles and one defensive tackle. He then matched those games in 2021, playing 9 of the Redblacks’ 14 games this past season and in those games he had 3 defensive and 3 special teams tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. With 4 seasons of CFL experience now to his name, Norman should be able to make some plays in 2022 for Mike Benevides defence and Bob Dyce’s special teams unit.

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

Last on the list from Thursday’s signings was 26 year old defensive back Ranthony Texada. The Texas Christian University product spent the 2019 CFL pre-season with the Ottawa Redblacks, and then played with the XFL’s New York Guardians where in 5 games he made 16 tackles and a sack. He was then signed mid way through the 2021 CFL season by the Redblacks and played in 3 of the 14 games,. In the 3 games, starting in all 3 of them Texada made 11 tackles on defence. Texada coming back to Ottawa for the 2022 CFL season now gives the Redblacks Sherrod Baltimore, Brandin Dandridge, Ranthony Texada, Justin Howell, and Treshaun Abrahams Webster for the future. They still have a number of pending free agents in the defensive secondary and on the defence in general who they may want to extend prior to free agency. Players like Abdul Kanneh, Randall Evans, Antoine Pruneau and Brad Muhammad are to become free agents as well as linebackers Micah Awe, Don Unamba and Christophe Mulumba, and defensive linemen Avery Ellis, Davon Coleman and Praise Martin-Oguike.

Bringing back those key pieces on the defensive side of the ball, as well as any offensive pieces worth bringing back like R.J Harris, Kenny Stafford, Nate Behar, Mark Korte, Nolan MacMillan and Timothy Flanders can go a long way as for the success the Ottawa Redblacks are striving for in 2022, but they will also have to bring in some key pieces during free agency to be contenders. Bringing in some proven offensive linemen as well as a couple of proven offensive playmakers would make a big difference in the Redblacks offence that already has so much potential.

With Ottawa continuing to make transactions leading into the off-season, be on the lookout for more as they want to make a statement in the 2022 CFL season.

Ottawa Redblacks kickoff return specialist DeVonte Dedmon named East Special Teams Player of the Year

After being named the team’s special teams player of the year and most outstanding player for the CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks this season for his remarkable 2021 campaign, DeVonte Dedmon has officially been named the eastern special teams player of the year. Over the 2021 CFL season, Dedmon accumulated a total 1,960 return yards and returned three kickoff or punts for touchdowns. He also had an additional 171 yards and a touchdown on the offensive side of the football.

He beat out Hamilton’s Nick Cross, Toronto’s Boris Bede and Montreal’s David Cote to be the eastern division’s special teams player of the year and will now go up against the Calgary Stampeders’ Rene Paredes to later be named the CFL’s special teams player of the year on December 10th at the award ceremony in Hamilton, just prior to the 2021 Grey Cup on Sunday December 12th.

Dedmon has also been named a 2021 CFL all-star alongside other Redblacks, Richie Leone and Avery Williams.

Gee Gees’ Ottawa-raised running back J.P Cimankinda invited to play in 2022 Cajun Bowl in Beaumont, Texas

On Wednesday November 17th 2021 a press release was sent out to media covering the 2022 Cajun All-Star Bowl which is set to be played in Beaumont Texas on February 12th. The press release included the trail blazing news that J.P Cimankinda is invited to play in their 2022 all-star game. J.P Cimankinda, who plays running back for the University of Ottawa and had a tremendous 2021 campaign with the Gee Gees is the first Canadian player invited to the game, but is expected to be one of 16 playing in Beaumont come February.

Cimankinda, in just 6 regular season games this year, on 76 carries ran for 426 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry on the season and 99.5 yards per game with over 10 offensive touches. In addition to his regular season totals, in the two post season games, J.P Cimankinda, who could be the best power back in Canada ran for 221 yards and a score on 44 carries while also catching one pass for two yards over the two games. He averaged 5 yards per carry, and helped lead the University of Ottawa to their first playoff victory since the 2014 season.

In last week’s press release, executive director of the Cajun All-Star Bowl Bryan Beasley had wrote the following:

[Houston, TX] – The Cajun AllStar Bowl’s Scouting department is proud to announce its first pick of the 16 Canadian players to play in the Cajun Bowl.  Yesterday the staff sent its invitation to University of Ottawa running back number 5 JP Cimankinda.  

Compared to being the Canadian Version of NFL’s Derrick Henry, JP shows great size & explosiveness out of the back field.  He knows how to always find his way upfield and has great field vision that plays a part in his ability to manipulate and stay elusive to defenders.  He’s also a punishing running back, which makes him fun to watch.

This news for J.P Cimankinda comes as major news for the football community in Ottawa, after playing at all levels of football in the nation’s capital and being a part of a large football family in Ottawa, J.P is known by many across Ottawa. If he is able to play in the 2022 Cajun All-Star Bowl, in which he will play against a number of NCAA athletes in front of NFL scouts and have success doing so, it will open the eyes of other athletes from the 613 to work harder and eventually get to the stage of life Cimankinda is at, where the work begins to pay off.

Fellow Ottawa-raised athlete, and another football player that was helped by 2020 Brian Kilrea award winner Coach Jean Guillaume, Jesse Luketa also received an invite to an all-star game, the famous Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. It is clear that football in Ottawa is on the rise. With athletes like Cimankinda, and Luketa succeeding, getting opportunities to play in big events like the Cajun Bowl and Senior Bowl, there will only be more opportunities for the future athletes of Ottawa as more people continue to step up in the city to create change for the football culture.

Stay tuned for more on the 2022 Cajun All-Star Bowl as more Canadians, and maybe more Ottawa-raised athletes get their opportunity to play in it.

Ottawa Redblacks sign trio of Canadians, including defensive end Kene Onyeka

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

During the last few weeks of the 2021 CFL season and now the beginning of the Redblacks’ off-season, the Ottawa Redblacks front office has very busy. Led by interim general manager Jeremy Snyder and assistant general manager Jean-Marc Edme, the Redblacks front office has dedicated their time as of recently to lock up their 2022 roster with players that have made a key impact on the Redblacks in 2021 and previous years. Earlier the team had re-signed and extended the contracts of returner DeVonte Dedmon, kicker Lewis Ward, punter Richie Leone, defensive back Justin Howell, linebacker Avery Williams, defensive end Nigel Romick, running back Brendan Gillanders and defensive backs Brandin Dandridge and Sherrod Baltimore. Adding to the list on Wednesday, the Redblacks have now extended the contracts of Kene Onyeka, Marco Dubois and Anthony Gosselin.

Kene Onyeka-Ottawa RedBlacks-6nov2021-Photo Scott Grant

Onyeka, a two year defensive end from Carleton University has been a key contributor to the 2021 Ottawa Redblacks, having made 22 tackles, 8 on special teams, two sacks and forced one fumble in 13 of the Redblacks’ 14 games.

Full back Anthony Gosselin, who was drafted by the Redblacks in 2017 mainly found himself on special teams as usual and in the offence on certain packages but continues to make his impact for the team. In 2021’s season he played in 12 of the 14 games, making 4 special teams tackles and catching 4 of 5 targets on offence for 20 yards. He’s been extended through the 2022 CFL season, and so has Marco Dubois, a 6-foot-4 full back and slot back out of Laval.

The Laval product has now played in 48 games since being drafted by Ottawa in 2018 and has been a huge piece to the Redblacks special teams unit, however he also can be a playmaker on offence if given the opportunity. Over his career thus far he’s caught 9 of 13 targets on offence for 74 yards, while even scoring a touchdown in the 2018 East Final from Trevor Harris on an 11 yard completion, one of Harris’ 6 touchdowns that day which broke the record for most passing touchdowns in a CFL playoff game. This season Dubois has 4 special teams tackles and has been key player on a number off DeVonte Dedmon returns, including a couple of his touchdown run backs.

This Canadian trio will be back with the Ottawa Redblacks for the 2022 CFL season, and may see a larger role on the team moving forward depending what the front office continues to do as we approach the remainder of the off-season.

“The next big thing.” CEO Bruce Thompson on his brand, Dreamathon

In the sports world, something that we often search is consistency. No matter what you do in sports, consistency is key. Whether you are a player, coach, scout, general manager, or even a reporter, if you are not continuously doing your job and doing so successfully, you will not be looked at as a reliable source for whatever you do. The sports world is really a business, and its a “what have you done for me lately” business, something that a lot of people have trouble recognizing prior to entering it, however brand owner Bruce Thompson has not had much trouble with this with his company, Dreamathon.

Thompson’s consistency with his company has been unreal, and is being looked at globally in the sports business every week because of it. Each week in the NFL, star players Justin Jefferson, Cameron Dantzler, Odell Beckham Jr, and Tee Higgins have showed up to games wearing Dreamathon apparel. It began earlier in the NFL season with Odell Beckham Jr wearing a “Juice Landry” shirt, then Minnesota Vikings defensive back Cameron Dantzler wore his “Patrick Peterson” shirt for his teammate, Christian Kirk wore a “Legends never die” shirt with images of Kobe Bryant Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King Jr displayed on it, once Odell Beckham Jr and the Cleveland Browns had a falling out, Dreamathon created “Free Odell” tee shirts which went viral with both Justin Jefferson and Cameron Dantzler repping them with the Minnesota Vikings, showing love to their friend, then most recently Justin Jefferson has continued to been seen wearing Dreamathon, wearing a LeBron James graphic tee shirt and then a Randy Moss one last weekend while Cameron Dantzler has worn a Harrison Smith and Terrell Buckley shirt back to back weeks and Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins has shown his love to Bengals legend Chad Ochocinco wearing Dreamathon’s “85 Dreams” tee shirt. Throughout the weeks, it has been a consistent occurrence in which NFL fans have seen Dreamathon on the big stage, but it isn’t just fans that have taken in the statement being made by Bruce Thompson’s company, but the media and icons around the world have taken notice as well. Platforms like ESPN, Bleacher Report, FOX Sports, the NFL, Sportscenter, GQ Sports, USA Today, NBC Sports and icons Randy Moss, LeBron James, Shannon Sharpe, and Chad Ochocinco have taken in what Thompson has done, and it has created quite the buzz, week in, week out.

The man behind the company, Bruce Thompson is not new to the buzz though. He’s gone viral before. He’s been in an NFL locker room before as well, and there is a story behind his name and Dreamathon that people should know when they see their favorite NFL players wearing the apparel on TV every weekend.

Thompson, a New Orleans, Louisiana native began playing football at the age of 8 years old, “It was the start of greatness.” Bruce mentions, “Where I’m from we played a lot of football in the street, we raced pole to pole to see who was the fastest and we were all competitive.” Thompson continues, “One of my friends, Ryan (Wright) actually got me to play football but at the time my mother didn’t want me playing football so I was talking to her a lot about it, kind of talking it into fruition… When my mother ended up signing me up and I started to play, I ended up being a star on the team playing running back, quarterback, linebacker, receiver, defensive line, and anywhere they needed me on the field I was there to make a play.”

He made plays throughout his childhood playing youth football, but it wasn’t always easy for Thompson to be able to make those plays and stand out on the football field. During his childhood he was faced with adversity. He and his family were hit by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans which forced him out of his home and to Texas for middle school. In an interview with JZ Media in 2020 he told Jordan Zlomislic, “I learned a lot from the adversity I faced, not even just because of (hurricane) Katrina but everything I battled in my childhood and it really shaped me into who I am today.” 

Who he is today, Bruce Thompson is an alumnus of Miller McCoy Academy where he attended high school in New Orleans and played High School Football before attending Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, known for the stop Chad Ochocinco took prior to his NFL career. Thompson is also a free agent wide receiver who attended a 2017 NFL training camp with the New Orleans Saints. Training every day, he hopes to latch on with a professional team, but has also been building a platform for himself that helps him off of the football field. Bruce Thompson has dabbled in the modelling field, having modelled for big name brands like Fashion Nova Men, Cross Colours LA, SprayGround, Ethika and others while he has started his own clothing brand that he can model for and create a statement with.

Bruce Thompson began his clothing brand venture with shirts and hoodies with the quote “Beauty In The Struggle” placed on it. Something which he has lived by his entire life. Being able to fight through adversity, and finding the beauty in struggling times, but then he expanded his horizon, making a statement with his official brand, “Dreamathon.” He started Dreamathon by selling socks with empowering messages on them and messages in which people around the world, no mater who they are can relate to. Some said, “Faith”, “Do Not Disturb”, “It’s already written” while others just displayed the big dreams Dreamathon logo. The socks then expanded to sun glasses, shoes, and now graphic tee shirts, but even-though you may see the apparel everywhere, it doesn’t mean everyone can wear it. When asked about his company, Thompson said to Jordan Zlomislic of JZ Media, “Dreamathon isn’t really for everybody.” he explained, “All of the people wearing it, like Odell, Cam Dantzler, Justin Jefferson, they are great people and they are really great dreamers. Dreamathon is only for people that are chasing legendary dreams and that are chasing greatness. If you are chasing legendary greatness and chasing a dream you can understand Dreamathon.” he states, “its exclusive.”

One thing, mentioned earlier that really sticks out with Bruce Thompson’s Dreamathon is it’s consistency, and then the exclusiveness. You never know what is next for Dreamathon, and Bruce Thompson is going to keep that mystery going, but he ensures that, “Dreamathon is going to be the next big thing.” he said, Thompson continued, “I’m a dream-chaser and I haven’t finished yet.”

Without the statement Dreamathon has made with fashion in football alongside the players the company has had wearing it’s apparel, like Odell Beckham Jr, the culture around football wouldn’t be the same, and there has clearly been a change in culture this year with Dreamathon in the headlines for pre-game fashion. It will be something that continues to happen with Odell Beckham Jr and other Dreamathon athletes. Just wait and see how much farther the change can go, as the culture continues to evolve. As American Thanksgiving weekend comes up this week, be on the lookout for more NFL players that will be repping the Dreamathon vision and make a statement as a dreamer.

Mayor of Ottawa, Redblacks fan favourite defensive back Sherrod Baltimore signs contract extension through 2022 alongside Dandridge

The 2021 CFL season wasn’t pretty for the Ottawa Redblacks. For the second season in a row the team was held to just 3 wins over the course of the year, and was hit by a number of obstacles, including the injury bug. Redblacks star defensive backs Abdul Kanneh and Sherrod Baltimore were among the first players that went down for the Redblacks, Kanneh after week one and Baltimore after week 3. Each of the two defensive backs made a large impact when they were in games early in the season, Abdul Kanneh of course winning the game for the Redblacks in week one with an interception return for a touchdown, and Sherrod Baltimore also had a total 11 tackles over the two games he played before going down with an injury. Other key Redblacks players Matt Nichols, Dominique Davis, Timothy Flanders, Nolan MacMillan, and Antoine Pruneau also suffered injuries over the course of the season, and each of the losses made their respective impacts to the Redblacks season, and without both Baltimore and Kanneh in the lineup on defence, the secondary struggled.

Fortunately for the CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks, they will not have to worry about having a defence without Sherrod Baltimore moving forward into the 2022 CFL season. The team announced on Tuesday that they had re-signed the 4 season veteran through the 2022 CFL season. This move comes after the extensions of other key players DeVonte Dedmon, Avery Williams, Lewis Ward, Richie Leone, Justin Howell, Nigel Romick and Brendan Gillanders, and is impactful for the future of the Ottawa Redblacks, not only because of the impact Baltimore makes on the football field but for what he is able to do off the field for the Ottawa RedBlacks and the city of Ottawa as well.

After coming back from his first injury, Sherrod Baltimore made an appearance in 3 games, in which he made an additional 10 tackles and then missed the remainder of the CFL season, only playing in just 5 of the 14 games this season. Off of the football field though, this season he wasn’t able to contribute as much in the community as usual due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions in place by the CFL and the government, however prior to the CFL season he was able to continue to build his connections in the city of Ottawa. He has made a large influence on a number of individuals in the city of Ottawa, young athletes, coaches, teachers and business owners across the nation’s capital are extremely thankful for the work he has done, and the work he will continue to do now that he has extended his contract with the CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks. Baltimore has made an impact on my own life during his time as a Redblack and I would confidently say that without him, I would not be where I am today with JZ Media. The opportunities he has given me and everything I have learnt from him as a role model have taken me a long way and I am extremely excited to watch Sherrod Baltimore back at TD Place on the field in 2022 and see him back in the community.

The CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks also announced that they re-signed defensive back Brandin Dandridge, a 25 year old who had a break out season in 2021 with 4 interceptions and a fumble recovery in just 8 games played. Dandridge was signed by Ottawa in 2019 where he played 4 games and made 12 tackles in the games he played, then came back for training camp this season before being cut and brought back mid season. Among his takeaways, Dandridge made a interception in 3 consecutive games, and then recovered a fumble in a 4th consecutive game with a turnover. He’s played in just 12 games with the Redblacks over the two seasons but is bound to make an impact when he returns with Ottawa in 2022.

Ottawa Redblacks make second half adjustments, finish 2021 CFL season with comeback win over Alouettes

Throughout the 2021 CFL season, the Ottawa Redblacks have been in games. They have had leads at half-time, or stayed kept the majority of games within one possession a number of times, proving time after time that they can indeed play in this league, no matter what the people from the outside say. One thing that the team has struggled with this season though, has been making adjustments. Those leads, and those close games all fell a part because the team they were playing was making adjustments towards the game plan of the Ottawa Redblacks while the Redblacks themselves were not.

Seven of the Ottawa Redblacks’ 11 losses on the 2021 CFL season were in games where the Redblacks either had leads or were within one possession at half-time. If they were to have finished those games how they started them, with some adjustments they would be on top of the CFL’s eastern division with a 10-4 record. Yes, it is a lot of “what ifs” now that you look back on the 2021 season for the Ottawa Redblacks, but outside of the trouble on the offensive line this season and the inconsistency from the play on both sides of the football, this Redblacks team does not look like a 11 loss team and they will be hungry to show exactly that next season like they did Friday night in Montreal.

On Friday, the Redblacks beat the Montreal Alouettes 19-18, coming back to win after being down 18-3 at half-time, it was the first time all season where Redblacks fans saw a better team come out to play in the second half of a game. Ottawa’s 23 year old quarterback Caleb Evans was given the start and managed the game well for the Redblacks offence, throwing for 173 yards on 18 completions while rushing for 56 additional yards on 10 rushing attempts. Evans scored two touchdowns on the ground and threw for two 2-point conversions to R.J Harris to go up 19-18. Timothy Flanders had himself a game as well, going over the 100 yard marker for scrimmage yards, racking up 62 on the ground and 67 through the air, including a 39 yard screen pass on the game winning drive, all set up by a Davon Coleman fumble recovery. The fumble recovery marked one of three that the Redblacks had in the second half, and one of the two Davon Coleman takeaways which led to points. While the Redblacks did not turn the ball over a single time over the four quarters of the game, it showed to the Redblacks that winning the turnover margin could result in success.

Alongside Coleman on the defensive side of the ball was Justin Howell who made 5 tackles and forced two of the three fumbles, Avery Williams who had 6 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, Micah Awe who had 5 tackles and a sack and Frankie Griffin who sealed the game with the final fumble recovery on the game’s final kickoff and also made 4 tackles on the night as a starting SAM linebacker.

The Redblacks were able to get a good look as to who they may have returning for them in the 2022 CFL season next year over the last couple of games, and if this game did anything for anyone it should have given players like Caleb Evans, Timothy Flanders, R.J Harris, Davon Coleman, Justin Howell, Frankie Griffin and Micah Awe something to carry over into the off-season and the following season as some do not have contracts for the 2022 CFL season just yet or find themselves in a position where they could have a starting job when they come back to the capital in 2022.

It will be an interesting off-season for the Ottawa Redblacks, from the decisions that they make regarding the general manager position, the coaching staff, with the holes that it may have with running backs coach Charlie Eger out of the picture, and of course the roster itself, but R-Nation will not have to wait very long to get answers. The 2022 end of season press conference will be Sunday, when Ottawa Redblacks players and coaches will speak to the media regarding the season this year as well as the 2022 off-season. Be on the lookout for any Redblacks news over the next few weeks, as there will likely continue to be action in Ottawa’s front office.

Ottawa Redblacks release depth chart for 2021 CFL season finale; Caleb Evans gets nod against Alouettes

On Friday, the CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks will kickoff in Montreal for the final time of the 2021 CFL season against the Alouettes. They will look to close the season out on a high note, hopefully winning their 3rd game of the season, but they are also getting their last look of the 2021 CFL season at who they will have coming back for the 2022 CFL season. Failing to make their way into the Grey Cup playoffs for the second consecutive season, the Ottawa Redblacks and their front office in charge are searching for all of the pieces they need to make their way back into the hunt, like they were in 2018, playing in the 106th Grey Cup against the Calgary Stampeders.

Calgary Stampeders vs Ottawa REDBLACKS July 25, 2019 PHOTO: Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photography

Among the pieces that they will need on their team for the 2022 CFL season to be in the Grey Cup will be some players that they already have on the roster. The front office has just re-signed and extended the contracts of a few key players, DeVonte Dedmon, Avery Williams, Lewis Ward, Richie Leone, Justin Howell, Brendan Gillanders and Nigel Romick, so they will each be players to watch in this week’s game against the Alouettes as they prepare to be back in the capital for the 2022 season, but there’s also a number of young players, rookie players that will be under contract for the 2022 season that will be looking to lock up their jobs for the following season too.

Quarterback Caleb Evans, who at just 23 years old has been able to throw for 1,106 yards and 5 touchdowns in 6 starts while running for an additional 289 and a score will make the start in Montreal for the Redblacks’ season finale. He is under contract for the 2022 CFL season, and after starting what will be half of the Redblacks games in 2021, he will be coming back to the capital next season with more experience and another off-season training under his belt. This season wasn’t a completely fair test for Evans, as he was faced with trouble up front week in week out, having a different offensive line every game he played, but all things considered he was still able to make plays. He has shown a lot of potential, and has developed heavily as the season has progressed. The Ottawa Redblacks will also have quarterback Devlin Hodges with them in Montreal who at 25 years old has an additional 2 years remaining on his contract with the Redblacks. Watch for Evans and Hodges in Friday’s game as they each look to show flashes of what they can do for the Redblacks.

Sticking to the offensive side of the ball, where the Ottawa Redblacks have struggled the most this season, Ottawa will see receivers Ryan Davis and Jordan Smallwood play at slotback on Friday in Montreal. The two rookies were brought in for their first seasons in the CFL this year, Davis has had a big year, catching 52 passes for 567 yards and two scores while also accumulating over 500 other yards through returning and rushing yards. He is the Redblacks 2021 rookie of the year. As for Smallwood, he caught one pass for 9 yards in his CFL debut in Edmonton prior to missing time with an injury. Friday will be the first time he suits up since week 3 against the Roughriders. They both are under contract with the Redblacks on option deals for the 2022 CFL season, so Friday will be a good opportunity for them both, despite the success they may already have had to secure their spot for next season. Also at receiver will be Nate Behar, Wesley Lewis, Anthony Coombs, DeVonte Dedmon, Kenny Stafford and R.J Harris who will be looking to make plays as well on the offence for play caller Paul LaPolice.

As for the defence, Mike Benevides’ group has been surprising the entire CFL this season, and has shown up to be a top defence in the CFL at times which is something they would most definitely like to carry over to the 2022 CFL season. Doing so will be linebackers Micah Awe and Avery Williams who are among the top 5 for the CFL in tackles, defensive linemen Cleyon Laing, Davon Coleman, Avery Ellis and Praise Martin-Oguike and defensive backs Abdul Kanneh, Randall Evans, Brandin Dandridge, Don Unamba and Sherrod Baltimore. Baltimore and Kanneh have missed a lot of time this season to injury, so they haven’t been able to get the best stat lines themselves, however when they do play they are key contributors to the defence and should be back for the 2022 CFL season. On Friday, players to watch for 2022 would include linebacker Frankie Griffin who is making his start at SAM, defensive backs Brandin Dandridge and Ranthony Texada who will start, both young playmakers, safety Justin Howell who was just re-signed this week and defensive linemen Praise Martin-Oguike and Kene Onyeka.

The special teams unit will remain the same for Friday’s game, and as usual be on the lookout for a DeVonte Dedmon return, as he does make his way back to Montreal where he had a two touchdown game in 2019 against the Alouettes.

Watch the Redblacks and Alouettes in action at 7:30 on TSN, and keep your eyes on the stars of tomorrow for Ottawa.

Ottawa-raised receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr recognized as Most Outstanding Canadian Player for Toronto Argonauts

After moving to the city of Ottawa, the capital of Canada from Guyana at the age of seven with his dad, Kurleigh Gittens Jr was introduced to the game of football. He played football in Ottawa with the Cumberland Panthers, and played with Sir Wilfred Laurier Secondary School in Orleans. During that time he also trained with Victor Tedondo of Gridiron Academy, participated in a number of football camps and played 7 on 7 football for recruiting. Gittens Jr’s journey led him to Wilfred Laurier University where he played football and broke records for the Golden Hawks, having the record for most receptions in a U-Sports season with 75 in 2017, 205 over his career (an OUA record) and racking up 2,682 yards receiving over his career for a Laurier record.

He was later drafted by the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in the 3rd round of the 2019 CFL Draft, and played in 13 of the 18 games for the Argonauts in 2019. In his rookie campaign he caught just one pass for 10 yards, and was mostly featured on special teams where he had an additional 250 yards on returns. By many he was looked at to be just a Canadian receiver for depth purposes and someone that can return kicks when you need it. There weren’t a lot of people praising him, putting him on notice for the league, and when the Argonauts drafted Dejon Brissett and signed Canadian Juwan Brescasin in the off-season alongside American receivers Eric Rogers and Davaris Daniels, Gittens Jr’s role in the Argonauts offence looked to be very minimal going into his sophomore season, however he’s made sure to make his mark on the offence.

In his first game of the 2021 CFL season, Gittens Jr caught his first career touchdown, and did so on a game changing score over the Calgary Stampeders. He has since caught 50 passes for 605 yards and 4 touchdowns in 13 games this season and was just awarded the Toronto Argonaut’s Most Outstanding Canadian Player award. He will be one of the nominees to win the eastern Canadian Player of the Year, where he will face Carleton product Tunde Adeleke of Hamilton, University of Ottawa product Lewis Ward (Redblacks placekicker), and Alouettes defensive linemen David Menard from Quebec. If he wins the eastern award, he would then be nominated for the league award for Most Outstanding Canadian, an award recognized league-wide.

Gittens Jr and the Argonauts will be playing in the East Final on Sunday December 5th against either the Montreal Alouettes or Hamilton Tiger Cats. The winner of that game will move on to the Grey Cup.

Jean-Sorphia Guillaume receives 2020 Brian Kilrea award at Ottawa City Hall

On Wednesday November 17th there were 16 residents of Ottawa, Ontario who received awards and were added to the Order of Ottawa, being recognized for the work they have done in their respective fields. Of those receiving awards was football coach from the east end of Ottawa, Jean-Sorphia Guillaume. Guillaume received the 2020 Brian Kilrea award on Wednesday for Excellence in Coaching. The award for Guillaume was announced in October of 2020, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, the ceremony and giving of the trophy was only able to proceed in November of this year.

Guillaume has done a lot of work in the city of Ottawa as a football coach, teacher and a mentor more a number of young men and women in the nation’s capital. The Brian Kilrea award for Excellence in Coaching is a huge honour for him, and having been awarded it in person by both Mayor of Ottawa Jim Watson and Brian Kilrea himself only shows how much his work is getting noticed now.

  • Mayor Jim Watson with Jean-Sorphia Guillaume
  • Brian Kilrea shaking Jean-Sorphia Guillaume’s hand, awarding him on Excellence in Coaching
  • Mayor Jim Watson with Guillaume’s family, photos by Jordan Zlomislic