Nicolas Boulay, the Quebec native signed by Ottawa on February 12th is looking to be a key to the REDBLACKS defense this upcoming season. Boulay, product of Sherbrooke University, was originally drafted and signed by Montreal in round 4 of the 2012 CFL Draft. Nicolas has been a big piece to the defenses he has been on, rallying up 58.5 tackles and 5 sacks in the 9 games from his 2012 season in Sherbrooke and 102 tackles, 1 forced fumble within the 97 games played for Montreal.

The newest REDBLACKS linebacker, has a brother who has spent time on the defensive line on Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, and Edmonton. The two siblings actually have had games played against each other on August 8th 2014, Montreal played Edmonton. Edmonton came out on top 33-23, but Nicolas won the battle between the siblings, getting one tackle, and a fumble recovery.

This off-season, shortly after Nicolas was signed, I was fortunate to ask him a few questions.

Q: What is your favorite color? A: Black

Q: What is your favorite meal? A: Shepherds pie, with any fruit known to humans!

Q: What is your dream car? A: I’m a big truck guy and already own one, a Toyota Tacoma, and I love it!

Q: If you couldn’t play sports, what would you be doing? A: Become a professional gamer!

Q: If you could pick one NFL team to play for, who are you playing for? A: Not abig fan of the NFL, I’ve fallen in love with the CFL and would have to stay with Ottawa! #RNATION

Thank you for checking out the website, hope you enjoyed getting to know Nicolas! See you at TD Place!

J.P Bolduc, the Laval product has been nothing but a blessing for the REDBLACKS. From on the field to off the field, he has always well represented the organization! J.P, who recently caught his first career interception has found himself moving back and forth within Linebacker, Half-back and Safety. Even with all the snaps at defense, Bolduc has enough stamina to be a big special teams help for Ottawa. The defensive and special teams stud has flied over the field for 48 tackles in the 43 games he’s spent in the CFL. With Marcel making little moves on the defensive side this off-season, we may see J.P power through with a big role in the ’19 campaign!

This off-season, I was lucky enough to have asked J.P some questions, I hope these answers help you decide to buy that #20 jersey you’ve always wanted!

What Is your favorite color?

J.P: Red, for the REDBLACKS and Rouge et Or!!

What is your favorite meal?

J.P: Fish (Salmon), and some Oreos and milk for desert.

What is your “Dream” car?

J.P: Mercedes Benz G Wagon easily!

What would you be doing if you were not playing football?

J.P: If I was not on the football field, I’d be killing it in the Politics!

If you could pick one NFL team to play for, who are you picking?

J.P: 100% Cleveland, been cheering for the Browns for ever! Now with Ryan Lindley on the coaching staff, it would be pretty cool!

Now that you know a thing or two more about J.P, I hope to see multiple people cheering for him to get another interception!

William Arndt, the longtime QB from Connecticut has juked and jived through multiple obstacles throughout his football career and isn’t looking for another obstacle to go through. In his freshman year if high school, Will was the starting quarterback of his school’s freshman team. He battled through a few minor back injuries while weight lifting, although with his competing mind set, he had no time to sit out. During that season, those minor injuries became a bigger problem in his football career and everyday lifestyle, he tucked the ball and went for a little scramble and was hit awkwardly. The awkward hit left Arndt partially paralyzed. The injury forced Will to be in a wheel chair for multiple weeks. The chances of him playing another season of football again would be next to zero. Arndt was on a mission and proved everyone wrong! Just over a year after he was in a wheel chair, he was back chucking bombs.  

Although he was back on the field, D1 University coaches had doubts about his abilities and if he is at his best potential yet.  

With minimal D1 offers graduating from high school, he chose to play at the University of West Conneticuit. He was playing college ball close to home, every athletes dream. His first game in University uniform, he caught for over 100 yards. Yep, thats right, CAUGHT, Will was working in at wide-out for the first weeks of his freshman season!
After a few injuries in the depth chart, he was back at QB and put on a show for the university! He put up over 3,000 yards passing and 32 touchdowns in his Senior season and was later invited to the FCS National Bowl wheres showcased his skills and talent in front of pro scouts. 

After a stint in the Alberta Football League, he was signed to a long term contract to play with the Ottawa Redblacks.
Arndt is yet to showcase his talent in a regular season game, although we have seen his potential in preseason games. 

This off-season, I contacted Will regarding a few questions…
Q: What’s your favorite color? A: Red/Black
Q: What’s your favorite meal? A: Ohana’s dinner at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, or anything from Chipotle
Q: What is your dream car? A: Audi S4 or a BMW M4
Q: If you couldn’t play sports, what would you be doing? A: If I never played sports, I’d probably be in the police crew, although now that I’ve been around football for awhile, I’ll definitely be working with football!
Q: If you could pick one NFL team to play for, who are you playing for? A: Nowhere in the NFL, I’m still looking to finish writing my story here in Ottawa. 

Now that you’ve seen him play, and know a little more about him, in the near future I hope to see a few #8s in the stands at TD place!

• 

Sherrod Baltimore, the Maryland native has spent two seasons with Ottawa. Two successful seasons, I’d say. In the two seasons that he has worn red and black (’17,’18), he’s had two trips to the playoffs, one ending in the Eastern Semi Final, and the other ending in the big game! In Sherrod’s 2018 season, he started the year on the practice squad. With a few big free agent signings, it did not look promising that we’d see a lot of him throughout the year. Although, during the season Marcel made a some moves, releasing both DBs Loucheiz Purifoy and Josh Johnson having Sherrod Baltimore sent back onto the gameday roster. While on the roster, there was no looking back for Sherrod. Racking up over 15 tackles throughout the season, and being an absolute ball hawk during the second half of the season, he recorded 4 interceptions, one of which came in the Grey Cup!

Before his days in Ottawa, Baltimore went to The University of Maine. During his career at Maine, he recorded 66 tackles, 11 pass deflections and 2 interceptions that came in his Senior year. He later went undrafted in both the NFL and CFL, and was picked up by Ottawa in the 2017 free agent camp!

During the off-season, I reached out to many of the guys, to see if they could answer some questions.

Q: What is your favorite color? A: Black

Q: What is your favorite meal, desert included? A: Lobster, crab legs, a filet mignon with zucchini and wild rice and for desert, vanilla ice cream and chocolate chip cookie sandwich.

Q: What is your dream car? A: A Rolls Royce, with stars in the ceiling.

Q: What would you be doing if you couldn’t play sports? A: I’d be either rapping, or coaching sports.

Q: If you could pick any team to play for, who are you picking? A: Patriots, Bill Belichick does a good job at putting players in a good position to make plays no matter who you are. Not to mention that they win super bowls.

Now that you know more about Sherrod, I hope you’ve become a bigger fan of his that you were before!