Just weeks ago, the Redblacks were unaware of who would step on the sidelines for the franchise, now as we go into 2020 Ottawa knows almost everything they need to know heading into the Free Agency and Draft.
After the announcement of LaPolice coming to Ottawa, the Redblacks were signing players and coaches to bring an identity to the city. The team brought in a defensive co-ordinator in Mike Benevides, an offensive line coach in Bob Wylie, a receivers coach in Alex Suber and they had made the decision to keep Bob Dyce at the special teams co-ordinator. These four moves inspired the team to also bring in Charlie Eger as the team’s running backs coach going into 2020.
Eger has a load of coaching experience in the past years as an assistant coach at Seton Hill University along with being the offensive co-ordinator at Clarion University. To pair with his collegiate coaching time, Charlie Eger spent a few OTAs with both the Pittsburgh Steelers and St Louis Rams along with a training camp with Winnipeg where he helped coach with Paul LaPolice the Redblacks head coach.
Also announced last week, Charlie Eger will be coaching former Winnipeg Bue Bomber and Calgary Stampeders running back Timothy Flanders. Just days before Christmas, the Redblacks announced the signing of Timothy Flanders and the re-signing of long snapper L.P Bourassa.
Flanders is heading into his 5th season of his CFL career and he’s had quite the ride up north. The Oklahoma native came to Canada in 2015 when he was signed by the B.C Lions to play just one game, although the experience put he put in granted him an opportunity with Winnipeg. In Winnipeg, Flanders fell onto the offensive system of Paul LaPolice and had a successful two seasons in the Peg.
In a part of LaPolice’s offense, Flanders gained 880 yards from scrimmage along with 7 touchdowns in both 2016 and 2017. Since his outing with Winnipeg, he has unable to find himself back on a team other than a stint with Calgary in 2018 although this opportunity to reunite with his old OC may be a great chance to get back in the game for Flanders.
To go with the announcements released by the Redblacks, the team also let fans know about who they have on their negotiations list.
On December 3rd, the Ottawa Redblacks who did not have a head coach at the time brought in 13 players to play in Ottawa for 2020. One of the 13 players was James Tyrrell, a Canadian wide receiver from Concordia University.
Photo of Tyrrell at Concordia taken by Kyran Thicke
James Tyrrell, the Dorval, Quebec native stayed close to home for University at Concordia but, for high-school ball, Tyrrell was off to boarding school in New Hampshire at Holderness Prep School.
Attending a prep school away from home helped Tyrrell get ready for his post-secondary schooling at Concordia where he would make a name for himself. The Dorval native studied Finances at Concordia but that’s not where he was known for.
The Ottawa Redblacks didn’t bring in Tyrrell because he knew about finances, it was because he was a baller on the field at Concordia. James Tyrrell was a 6 foot, 188 pound receiver and was real close of bringing the Stingers to the top of Canadian Schools.
Photo of James Tyrrell takes by Kyran Thicke
In the 5 years he played at Concordia, James Tyrrell’s final year had to be the best he’s ever played. Tyrrell played 8 games plus the playoff game and tallied 61 catches for 903 yards, averaging nearly 15 yards a catch he recorded. Not only did the numbers impress the Redblacks into signing him, but he was also named one of the top players in the nation this past season. With the numbers he put up, Tyrrell was put into the mix as the first team all-canadian receiver among both Tyler Ternowski and Jalen Philpot. With the fifth year that Tyrrell put into work at Concordia, the Redblacks didn’t have to draft him therefore he was signed as an undrafted free-agent and could be a steal for the organization.
Just weeks following his signing to Ottawa, I was fortunate to be able to reach out to James and set up an interview.
One on one with James Tyrrell
Zlomislic: Just a few weeks ago, you were signed by the CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks, what is it like to call yourself a professional athlete?
Tyrrell: “For the longest time and even now I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t think its quite sunken in yet and it hasn’t clicked that I’m a professional athlete or football player. Its one of those things that has always been on the back of my mind, but now to have that title its so surreal and I’m happy for whats next.
Zlomislic: What was your reaction like to this contract?
Tyrrell: “It was a huge relief at first. This past year I put in so much work and to see it payoff and receive this contract it was relieving to get the opportunity, but now its time to do more work when I’m in Ottawa.”
Zlomislic: After you got the news, who did you contact first?
Tyrrell: “When I got the news I was at school so I went to the coaches office, let them know and quickly called my family afterwards.”
Zlomislic: Before playing football at the next level, did you play football a lot growing up? If so, what would be your earliest football memory?
Tyrrell: “Yeah! I started playing when I was around nine and all I can remember was that I was a quarterback, and all I did really was run around and throw the ball up hoping my guys would catch it. I didn’t really know much of the sport then, but I’ve had some great times playing it for sure.”
Zlomislic: Since those times as a nine year old quarterback, you’ve gone through both high school football and college football. What would be your favorite memory within the sport?
Tyrrell: “In University I’ve had a few big games stats wise, the one freshest in my mind would be my last second game winning catch against Sherbrooke last season along with an 11 catch 176 yard game against Sherbrooke also so I had a lot of great games in my career, but those two sound like the best as I look them over.”
Zlomislic: As you mentioned, there were many games that you played at Concordia, what was it like to play football as a Stinger?
Tyrrell: “Overall it was good. Our team was tested a lot mentally with all the coaching changes we faced so we were always adapting to what was going on around us but it didn’t stop us from having a good experience and playing a lot of great games.”
Zlomislic: At Concordia, you put up some big totals to finish off your University career, how do you plan to do the same here in the CFL?
Tyrrell: “I’m going to come to Ottawa, come to the CFL and bring a work-horse mentality. Nothing is going to come simple when I come there, so I’m focused on one thing at a time as we go forward and head into training camp in the new year.”
Zlomislic: As a Canadian football player growing up, you were highly exposed to the CFL, was one of your childhood dreams to become a CFL player?
Tyrrell: “Yeah forsure! Growing up, I was in football, basketball, and soccer but I spent most time playing basketball so it wasn’t thought over that I was going to the NFL or CFL. As a kid, my dream was to be a professional athlete, I was never specific on what sport I’d like to go forward in but I knew I was going to be insports.”
Zlomislic: You mentioned that you spent a lot of your time playing sports. If you weren’t accessed to sports, where would you be?
Tyrrell: “I’ve been a barber for a little while now and I enjoy it, so I’d definitely finish up my schooling and get into the barber industry.”
Zlomislic: If you could use one word to describe yourself as a football plaer, what are you?
Tyrrell: “I’m a competitor. I’ve been driven to compete everywhere I go.”
Zlomislic: What excites you the most about the new opportunity given here in Ottawa?
Tyrrell: “Just to play football again honestly. When you spend so much time around the sport it gets really exciting when you get the opportunity to play at the next level. Other than that, it’s the impact I can have off the field. I remember as a kid there were always these CFL teams coming to my school and talking to kids and putting an impact on their lives, I’m excited to do things off of the field and impact some things.”
Just days before Christmas, Paul LaPolice and Marcel Desjardins both agreed to bring in a new receivers coach to the capital. After Paul LaPolice mentioned that he would revamp the coaching staff, many people hadn’t believed him, and then he took action.
Just one week into the job, he brought in Bob Dyce and Bob Wylie, and then the next week he signed Mike Benevides to be the defensive coordinator. Now, on December 20th, LaPolice is 11 days into his job here in Ottawa and has announced a new receivers coach in Alex Suber.
Suber played both wide receiver and defensive back in the CFL and has developed a good looking coaching background since his departure from his playing career in 2014.
Alex Suber started his playing career at Middle Tennessee Sate University where he played both running back and defensive back. In his four year University career, Suber totaled for over 160 tackles, 5 interceptions and 4 quarterback sacks while rushing the ball 16 times and catching it 4 times for an 84 yard total.
Suber’s superb University career granted him the opportunity to play at the next level with both the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts where he was lucky enough to play for the Redblacks new Head Coach Paul LaPolice for a few seasons. In the CFL, Suber played a big role in the Winnipeg secondary, racking up over 60 tackles in two seasons while getting over 50 in the other two. Along with the tackling he had at Winnipeg, he got 4 career interceptions where he took one for a 66 yard pick six along with 6 fumble recoveries.
Suber and a friend enjoy Winnipeg Blue Bombers game on sidelines
As a successful defensive back in the league, Suber will know what to coach the Ottawa receivers when it comes to tricking the defensive backs, but he also has some coaching experience behind him also.
Since leaving the CFL as a player, Suber has been a guest coach at the 2017 Saskatchewan Roughriders training camp, he was a defensive coordinator at Lyon College and most recently, he served as the receivers coach at Murray State.
Alex Suber, the Ottawa Redblacks newest receivers coach will reunite with his former coach Paul LaPolice as a part of the coaching staff, and LaPolice mentioned, “Alex brings a range of experience as a coach over the past five years, the last two spent working with receivers at a high level. His experience as a starting defensive back in the CFL will also be an invaluable asset to our receivers. This is a good, young coach who will relate to our players.” when asked about the transaction via Redblacks media.
On December 3rd 2019, the Ottawa Redblacks announced the signing of 13 different players. On that list was Jarvion Franklin, who; if you look at his background stands out from the others. Franklin grew up a football star in Tinley Park, Illinois and later went to school at the University of Western Michigan.
At Western Michigan, Franklin lit it up on all cylinders. In just his first game as a Bronco, Jarvion Franklin put up 168 scrimmage yards along with 3 rushing touchdowns. For Franklin, this game was not just a coincidence or lucky event as he did the same for the rest of the season. Following the season opener, Western Michigan kept feeding him the ball, getting 3 rushing touchdowns again in the following two games and rushed for 1,551 yards as a freshman.
Along with the yardage he put up, the nine touchdowns he scored within the first three games helped him out in getting to 24 touchdowns to close the season. The 24 touchdowns he scored on the ground handed him the record for most touchdowns as a Bronco in a single season.
The 1,551 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns he scored as a freshman gave him the role as the starting running back that Broncos fans fell in love with for the following 3 seasons where he totaled for another 3,300 plus rush yards and nearly 30 additional touchdowns.
With these totals, Franklin finished his University career with 5,537 all-purpose yards and 56 touchdowns from scrimmage. In conclusion, these numbers can be compared to many all-pros such as Bo Jackson’s 4,303 rush yards and 42 touchdowns he scored at Auburn or even Barry Sanders’ 3,556 yards and 49 touchdowns scored at Oklahoma State University. When looking at these numbers side by side, there’s no reason not to question why Franklin didn’t go as far as the ones in company of him.
Jarvion Franklin, who went undrafted following the 2018 NFL draft had a pre-season stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although it didn’t last, he still got playing time in the 4 games. With the four games he played in the pre-season, Franklin ran the ball 8 times for just 10 yards but got a touchdown to put on the records. Unfortunatley for Franklin, the 10 yards and a touchdown didn’t give the Steelers enough reason to keep him around and they later waived him to go unsigned by anyone but the Ottawa Redblacks this year.
Jarvion Franklin has signed with the Ottawa Red Blacks of the CFL.
After going one full NFL and CFL season unsigned, Franklin kept working hard and finally found himself on the roster of the CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks. Since his signing, I was lucky enough to reach out and talk to Jarvion about his past and what’s to come here in Ottawa. Capture our conversation below…
One on one with Jarvion Franklin
Zlomislic: The contract you were offered this month was the first you’ve received in a long while. What was your initial reaction of the signing?
Franklin: “My reaction was all excitement! I started getting that feeling in my stomach that I haven’t gotten in a while knowing that there’s competition around the corner. It finally gives me a reason to prepare, and everything happens for a reason so to get another great opportunity, to play for a great team, I’m excited to get to know the people there and I’m really excited to get started.”
Zlomislic: Prior to being signed, had you heard about the Redblacks?
Franklin: “Yes I had! I found myself watching some CFL this past year and I follow the Toronto running back James Wilder on instagram and I know he’s been tearing it up so I’m excited to do the same with the Redblacks.”
Zlomislic: After being signed byOttawa, who was the first person you contacted?
Franklin: “After I was signed, I called my girlfriend because I was shocked. I was like wow, this is amazing. This was what I was waiting for so we decided on a few things and I’m ready to show Ottawa what I’m all about”
Zlomislic: Before being able to call yourself a professional, you had a career at WMU where you played some big games. What would be your favorite memory as a Bronco?
Franklin: “The great games, and the stats I put up at Western Michigan are all great and I’m forever grateful to have that behind me, but the best memory I have is winning the MAC championship in 2016. Going down to Detroit and playing at Ford Field, we played our tails off against Ohio University. The win really put the stamp on the group we had that year. We had a really competitive league and for us to push through and win it was awesome for us.”
Zlomislic: In that time at University, you played with 4 different groups of players. Who would be the most interesting player you played with?
Franklin: “The most interesting player I played with at University would have to be my mentor that I was set up with the first day of practices. Taylor Moton was set to lead me around and I personally believe he’s up there to be one of the most interesting players out there. He was an absolute beast and that’s a reason why he’s with the Carolina Panthers now. Taylor and I bonded a lot at University, he was an offensive lineman while I was his running back, and he was a great guy and a comedian as I got to know him.”
Zlomislic: To put up the numbers you had at Western Michigan and pretty much get forgotten by NFL teams other than a stint with Pittsburgh, what kept you working and striving for your dream?
Franklin: “A lot of things kept me going. I think this past year, I faced the most adversity yet in my life but in the time I’ve spent out of football, I learnt that change doesn’t come when you do nothing, change only comes when you work and fight past adversity and that’s something I have been doing for the last while and with this opportunity from the Redblacks I’m more than excited to have this happen.”
Zlomislic: This contract is no ordinary CFL contract, its to play in the capital of Canada, have you been north of the border before?
Franklin: “I have not. I’ve never officially crossed the border and breathe in the Canadian air, but I’ve got my passport ready to go to Ottawa. Before I go to Ottawa, the closest I’ve been to Canada would be when I played the bowl game in Detroit and I guess it overlooks Windsor which is a city in Canada and I thought it looked pretty cool over the bridge.”
Zlomislic: Just around a week following your signing here in Ottawa, the Redblacks announced the signing of Paul LaPolice as the new coach. Have you heard of LaPolice before?
Franklin: “No, I have not but after doing my research and looking at a few articles I’m convinced that he’s a great guy and I’m excited to go up there, tell him about myself and wake some people up.”
Zlomislic: Like mentioned before, you had an unreal college career. How do you plan on doing the same up north?
Franklin: “I definitely plan to be successful coming to Ottawa, but I plan on not just me being successful but I hope to make people around me successful and I plan to do whatever I can do to help the team.”
Zlomislic: We are just a few months awayfrom training camp and you’re close to meeting the best fanbase in the CFL, what can they expect from you as a Redblack?
Franklin: “The fans can expect me to be a guy who’s ready to compete, a guy who is willing to have a ball in his hands every play of every game, a guy who wants to win more than he’s afraid to lose, a guy that will move the chains as a powerful runner, I will respect everyone around me whether its a fan or a teammate, they will see a guy who will give back to the community as much as possible and I’m ready to soak it all in and show love to the fans when I get to Ottawa.”
Zlomislic: If you could describe yourself with one word, what word describes you the best?
Franklin: “Violent. I am a violent runner with the football and my running style makes me want to send a message to the guys I’m up against and I’m always ready to run hard.”
Just in the October of 2017, the CEBL came about in Canadian sports. Started up by former CFL star Mike Morreale, the league was found to be in good hands and this was not mistaken. After 2 years of planning, May 2nd 2019 was the official launch date of the newest Canadian Basketball league. The league took off with 6 teams, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Abbotsford, Niagara, Hamilton, and Guelph. The six teams all started off with sponsors from New Era, Spalding and Fox 40.
With help from 3 big sponsors, the league was off to a great start. The one thing and/or factor that came to play with it’s early success is how local it is. It is one of the only Canadian owned leagues, and with that title Morreale and the rest of the people among the front office made sure that the league will stay local and Canadian. The front offices created a rule, in which each team participating has to have 70% of their team as Canadians. This rule helps open positions towards younger Basketball players and fans as they can watch some local talent play at the professional level.
After one year of existence, the league’s Canadian ratio rule helped their branding so much that they brought in CBC Sports, one of the most watched television channels in Canada to televise the CEBL this coming season. Along with the broadcasting announcement, CBC was also informed that they will be televising games from a new CEBL team located in the capital of Canada named the Ottawa Blackjacks.
This November, Mike Morreale came to Ottawa with his partners at the CEBL and announced the coming of the newest basketball team to make its way to Ottawa.
Who is Mike Morreale?
All this talking about Mike Morreale, and many are still unaware of who exactly he is. Mike Morreale is a former CFL wide receiver who found himself playing 12 seasons in the CFL for both the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts.
In the time he spent in the CFL, he won two grey cups and took home the most outstanding Canadian player of the year 1998. To be able to get the awards and championships he did in his career, Morreale came into the league firing off all cylinders. Mike Morreale caught a total of 609 passes for 6649 yards and 24 touchdowns.
After his time in the CFL, Morreale took charge as the CFLPA’s president and the offensive and special teams quality control coach of the McMaster Marauders.
One on one interview with Morreale
Zlomislic: This past May, you started up the CEBL, what made you want to help start this up?
Morreale: “I’ve always been interested in the business part of sports, mostly on the football side of things, but after meeting with Richard Petko we both figured out how to put together a business case of sports by starting up a sporting league. That was the grand reason behind it, and we thought that the talent level would be great considering how well other leagues and teams have done in our country. A Canadian Basketball league seemed to be lacking, and it was something we wanted to act on.”
Zlomislic: As one that spent most of your time in football, you decided to start a basketball league, why basketball?
Morreale: “I always had something with basketball, and its just another great sport we have the ability to play and watch. I thought it was a great opportunity at the time and I truly believe that the fan bases here in Canada will help the outcomes of the league.”
Zlomislic: The CEBL is now one year into existence and about to take action to year 2, how would you describe the first season?
Morreale: “I’ve been really impressed by how year one went, it certainly took a few years to plan out how things will go in the background of the games played and I think that really paid off last year for our final product. I look forward to year 2, because we will be better considering we are more experienced and with the new deals in Ottawa and CBC it will be exciting to see!”
Zlomislic: This past season, the league only had 6 teams, now the league consists of 7 teams with the addition of the Ottawa Blackjacks, what made you put Ottawa to the mix?
Morreale: “Ottawa is a market we’ve been looking at for some time. It was considered to be a team when we first started but we never really acted on it due to the problems we may face behind the scenes like the distance between the league offices in Toronto to Ottawa. Now as we have our inaugural season behind us, those factors have slowly diminished and helped us decide to come to Ottawa. The fact that Ottawa is a big market and the capital of the nation there isn’t too many reasons not to be excited about a team coming to Ottawa.”
Zlomislic: What excites you the most about Ottawa’s new team?
Morreale: “Well after doing research during the transition to having a team in Ottawa, it was looked at to say Ottawa is a big basketball city. Whether it’s Ottawa U or Carleton, there’s always a team succeeding and fans in Ottawa are always supportive of success, and when there is a professional market in Ottawa, it will create traffic in the basketball market.”
Zlomislic: Ottawa has had a few basketball opportunities in the past but haven’t been able to run with it and succeed, what can Ottawa sports fans expect from the Blackjacks?
Morreale: “On the court, the Ottawa Blackjacks will be tremendous. I’ve spoke to the pottential GM in Ottawa and he is excited about the talent he has in the books and believes they will be a good contender in the league. Ottawa is a winning market which wants to see a winner fast and with the talent it is given there shouldn’t be a problem getting entertaining basketball. The teams that came in before came with good intentions, although I’m not sure they were set up for the success we are.”
Zlomislic: Along with the Ottawa Blackjacks announcement, the CEBL came about another big announcement this past month which the league landed CBC Sports to broadcast games, can you tell me about this?
Morreale: “This move was huge for us and basketball in general. Hockey has always been a big thing in Canada because of the airing time it gets compared to other sports and looking at other channels it looks like CBC is one of the most viewed programs and if we were to have our games on there it will be a big thing for the league and Canada’s future in basketball.”
Zlomislic: To pair with Ottawa’s new basketball team is the Ottawa Redblacks, who named Paul LaPolice as the coach just last week. As one who played multiple seasons in the CFL and have crossed paths with LaPolice, what can you say about this move?
Morreale: Absoloutley, LaPo was my receivers coach in Hamilton in around 2004. This I believe is a great hire by the Redblacks. The team has had a lot of success and following the tough season last year, to bring him in was huge this offseason. Paul LaPolice is a tremendous person, he understands the game, and he’s able to do so much with the ball and he deserves a spot as ahead coach and Ottawa is a great place for him and his future.
Yesterday, December 16th 2019 the CFL had released their official 2020 schedule. The Ottawa Redblacks will start off the 2020 campaign at home against the Toronto Argonauts on Friday June 12th for Friday Night Football.
The 2020 Ottawa Redblacks schedule
MacMillan back for 2 years
Nolan MacMillan, who was the Ottawa Redblacks first ever CFL draft pick is coming back to Ottawa for his 7th season in Red and Black. Just a week before Christmas, the Redblacks granted MacMillan a two year extension which would be a great gift as he will not have to go through the CFL free agency period.
MacMillan was interviewed by the media crew of the Ottawa Redblacks today and said, “Ottawa’s home and I can’t imagine playing anywhere else”. For MacMillan, that’s nothing but true. He has yet to play for another team in the CFL and with the 3 grey cups he’s been to with the group he says, “There is a lot to look forward to with this team and I’m excited to get back out there with the guys.”
New Defensive Coordinator in town
Along with MacMillan’s extension with Ottawa, Marcel Desjardins and Paul LaPolice came together to work out a coaching job for long time CFL coach Mike Benevides. During the time Marcel was out looking for a Head Coach, Mike Benevides name came up in multiple discussions, although with LaPolice being a recent Grey Cup champion, he was the favorite at the HC job. LaPolice may have won the job as the head man here in Ottawa, but the coaching staff needs to have some defensive minds on it also.
LaPolice’s offensive mastermind will be a great help to the Redblacks offense and with Mike Benevides on the defense, the team has a lot of potential going into 2020.
Over a month ago, the Redblacks future took a massive turn. For a team that has seen just one coach in the past 6 seasons and have had a great amount of success, the team’s future looked great with Rick Campbell in charge. Although just days following the team’s final game of the 2019 season, Rick Campbell and Marcel Desjardins made a decision behind closed doors which left Campbell on the market to coach any other CFL team.
Just a few weeks later, Rick Campbell took charge of the B.C Lions while Paul LaPolice signed up to coach the Redblacks. As LaPolice took over as coach in the nation’s capital, he mentioned there would be some changes within the coaching staff. Just one week with the job, LaPolice already brought in two coaches to the room and is hunting for more.
This week, TSN’s Farhan Lalji reported that both the Ottawa Redblacks and Montreal Alouettes have come in contact with Glenn about a quarterback coach job in the CFL. Even-though Glenn hasn’t made a decision on if he’d like to be a coach, this looks like a great option for the Redblacks moving forward.
REPORT: The @REDBLACKS and @MTLAlouettes are competing for the QB coaching services of Kevin Glenn
For all that know about Kevin Glenn’s tour of the CFL, this would be the second time he’d be called a Redblack along with the second time he works with Paul LaPolice.
In 2016, Glenn was the second string quarterback of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who’s offense was coached by Paul LaPolice.
Also in that great tour of the CFL, Glenn completed a career 62% of his passes for 52,867 yards and 294 touchdowns.
If Glenn is granted the opportunity to coach with the Redblacks, the quarterback room would be helped out from his experience.
Just this Monday the Ottawa Redblacks officially signed Paul LaPolice as the head coach, but with the moves he’s been developing are making it look like he’s been here for much longer.
To go back to his comments on Ottawa’s coaching staff, today he made two moves which would backup his opinions. Today, the Redblacks announced the bringing in of both Bob Wylie and Bob Dyce.
Bob Dyce has been with Ottawa for a while now and has been developing a great resume on the a Redblacks special teams. After both his kickers were granted NFL workouts, Paul LaPolice likes what he saw and decided to have him back with Ottawa going into 2020. In 2020, Bob Dyce will fill the role of being the team’s Special Teams Coach.
Along with Dyce, the Redblacks also announced that Bob Wylie would serve as the Ottawa Redblacks offensive line coach in 2020. Wylie has made a great background for himself with his last stint falling as the offensive line coach of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. Before the Browns, Wylie has coached with Paul LaPolice 2 times in the CFL, with that experience together, they are already aware of eachothers main goals as coaches. Although he may have experience with Paul LaPolice and people may know him from the CFL, the Redblacks and Rnation may also know him from his special moments from the Cleveland Browns Hard Knocks series.
The season may seem like a long ways away, although the season will creep up on us very quickly, so make sure to keep up to date on the Redblacks and subscribe to Lil’ Z Big R to receive all of the Redblacks news you’ll need to prepare for 2020.
Yesterday, the Ottawa Redblacks and Paul LaPolice were full of smiles after announcing a three year deal they had agreed on. They might have had a celebration at yesterdays press conference, but it didn’t stop them from getting to work toay.
Following yesterday’s announcement, Marcel Desjardins and the Redblacks front office agreed to sign Akeem Hunt.
In his career, Hunt has experienced a lot of football. Coming out of high school, he was a top running back in the country and later landed at Purdue University. With the Boilermakers, he played all four seasons putting up great numbers.
In Purdue, he was mostly used as a backup for the first two seasons as he totaled for just 96 touches where he turned in 1,870 all-purpose yards and 7 touchdowns. With him averaging 19.4 all-purpose yards per touch in the first two seasons he was granted a flex position in the Boilermaker offense to finish his college career.
With the new role in Purdue’s offense, he had 314 more touches than the previous two seasons and he brought in 2,753 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns in his final two seasons.
The great improvement in the final two seasons helped him on scouting boards as he was given a contract from the New York Giants which gave him the opportunity to show what he had to offer. Unfortunately for Hunt, this opportunity wasn’t good enough and neither was the next stint with the Baltimore Ravens.
After being cut by both the Giants and Ravens early on in the 2015 season, he was granted a contract which would last. On November 2nd, he was signed by the Houston Texans and just 20 days later he suited up for his first NFL game. He only got 4 yards off two carries in game one, but with 7 total games in 2015 he ran and received for over 135 yards.
The 2015 season fell short due to the Texans getting back their starting backs for their playoff run, but that didn’t stop him from coming back to the Texans in 2016. To start off 2016, Akeem Hunt ran over all defenders in pre-season running for 122 total yards and leading the team with 3 touchdowns. In 2016, the Houston Texans got Lamar Millar, who took away snaps from Hunt, although he was still fortunate to play 8 games, running the ball 20 times for 109 yards along with catching it 3 times for 29 yards.
Hunt had his best year yet with the Texans in 2016, although the free agency period came by and took him away from the team he knew best.In 2017, Hunt played with the Kansas City Chiefs where he’d play a big role on their special teams along with being a running back if they needed one.
With the Chiefs already having Kareem Hunt, and Charcandrick West they weren’t in need of Akeem Hunt on the offense as he got just 12 touches in the 15 games he dressed. Although he had just 12 touches for 54 yards in the 2017 season, his 15 games on special teams led to a total of 5 defensive/special team tackles.
After the 2017 season, the Chiefs were in good hands with the running backs group they had therefore they let go of Hunt going into the 2018 season.
Although he wasn’t given a contract from an NFL team, Hunt didn’t leave football quite yet, he ended up signing a contract with the AAF’s Orlando Apollos where he’d be their 3rd string running back behind both D’Ernest Johnson and De’Veon Smith. In Orlando, Hunt played all 8 games of the AAF’s existence and tallied up 234 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns.
As we all know, the AAF later folded in Feburary of 2019 and this suspension of operations left Akeem Hunt without a contract for the 2019 season. Unfortunately, without the AAF, he was also unable to land a job back in the NFL. He sat out all of 2019,but he was still on the Redblacks negotiations list, and after the 2019 CFL season and the announcement of Paul LaPolice as the coach it was announced that the Redblacks would have Akeem Hunt on their roster going into 2020.
This Saturday, both the Ottawa Redblacks and former Winnipeg Blue Bombers Offensive Co-ordinator agreed on a 3 year contract which left LaPolice as the Redblacks next head coach.
After Rick Campbell and the Redblacks decided to move on over a month ago, this has been known as a great move by the organization. LaPolice has been a well known offensive co-ordinator for the past few seasons after going to the Grey Cup as the Bombers head coach in 2011 he was then known as one on the CFL on TSN panel with his very own segment “The Coach’s playbook”.
Since the time as the coach on TSN, he has been an offensive mastermind with the Winnipeg Blue-Bombers! LaPolice was found calling plays for Winnipeg in 2016 al the way to the Grey Cup just two weeks ago.
Just two weeks ago, Paul LaPolice and his family were a part of Winnipeg’s big celebration about their big Grey Cup win, but that didn’t distract him to being a part of the Redblacks interview process. After being a part of 2 interviews with Marcel Desjardins, the two worked out a 3-year contract.
Just 2 days after the announcement on social media, the Redblacks and Paul LaPolice ended up having a press conference in light of the big news.
Following the press conference, I was granted the opportunity to have an interview and a laugh with Paul LaPolice about his new job and a few jokes.
Interview
Zlomislic: In the time you spent here in Ottawa, you coached multiple games here in Ottawa, what did you like most about playing here?
LaPolice: “I didn’t like many things because we had a lot of real close games here in Ottawa, I believe we had an overtime game and a ‘drive to win’ game also. I might not have liked those games at the time, but now that I’m a part of Ottawa, those games can be crucial and the fans got really involved. Everytime I coached at TD place, I expected a battle. You’re on the road, nice stadium, and one of the loudest crowds I didn’t find a reason not to like the games played here.”
Zlomislic: Those games played in Ottawa, you were a part of an away team, now you will be with the home team here at TD Place. How does it feel to be a part of the home side?
LaPolice: “It is exciting, as I said in the conference earlier I hope to make an impact and make this the loudest fan base in the east. Ottawa has a really young fan base, and they care about football. As a head coach, you like working in a place which cherishes their football and that is something Ottawa does. Not only does the fan base care, so does the management. Just to look back, Rick Campbell and his staff did a great job of bringing this team to the top of the league and I look to do the same.“
Zlomislic: After winning the Grey Cup with Winnipeg, you had the chance to go back for round two, but instead you took on the challenge to come to Ottawa. What sold you on the idea of working here?
LaPolice: “Certainly, the idea of being a head coach was really attractive and secondly the idea of coaching in this city kind of settled me in. I believe this team is one of the best organizations in the CFL and with the facilities, management and fan base it had around it gave me a great decision to work here in Ottawa.”
Zlomislic: After signing up on Saturday, today’s press conference was the first activity for you in Ottawa. What are your first impressions of Ottawa?
LaPolice: “Well, the impressions are great. Last week following my interview, I walked around the Christmas Market here at TD Place and it really got me into the Christmas spirit. The restaurants are good, and everyone seems to be much ore festive than I’m used to in Winnipeg. They had open fires out there, games for kids and I feel like Ottawa is a great place for my family as I did see a lot more outdoor activities than Ive seen in the Peg (Winnipeg). My first impressions are pretty well, this city is great and I’m looking forward to the next few seasons that I’m here for.”
Zlomislic: What excites you the most about your new job here in Ottawa?
LaPolice: “I think I’m most excited about the process of building our team’s identity. How to be a team, what our team defines and how we play as a team. I feel like last season, the Redblacks lost an identity after losing some key components, although with me here, I hope to change that and create a well advertised team in Ottawa.”
Zlomislic: Surrounding the time with the Winnipeg Blue-Bombers is the time you had spent a part of the TSN’s CFL panel. On the panel, you were among many great football minds. If you could choose one of your former colleagues at TSN to help coach here in Ottawa, who would you bring?
LaPolice: Can I say Rod Smith? Oh never-mind, he would just be the funnest guy there. I would have to say my man Milt Stegall. I remember Milt telling me his coaching philosophy; he said he’d only coach if there were 12 Milt Stegalls on the field for him. So if I had him help me here in Ottawa, I don’t think I’d have to worry about my receiving core. Although behind that, Id also have a great group of guys. When Milt played, he was one of the hardest workers, he always knew what was going on and he was one of the greatest guys off the field too. Milt would make up of a great coach here in Ottawa if I got to choose him.”
Zlomislic: When you were signed on Saturday, all of Rnation hopped onto social media to welcome you in to Ottawa. What can the fans here expect from you here in Ottawa?
LaPolice: “I hope to be consistent, I will make sure that our team plays fast, physical and have fun. These guys on the field are just playing a game they love and having fun is what they do, so if they’re having fun, it means success as a coach.”
Zlomislic: Yesterday, you were spotted in the airport wearing a Hakuna Matata Lion King shirt, is Lion King your favorite Disney movie?
LaPolice: “YES! If you put the Avengers to the side, Lion King has been a favorite movie of mine and my family for a while. Earlier, we actually had a house in Florida which was found just outside the Disney parks and what we did was live there for a month every winter and in the kids rooms were Lion King designs, so you can say its a family favorite.”
JZ MEDIA 