RedBlacks' first three official player signings

Yesterday, the RedBlacks announced their first official player signing, and they did not include Jerrell Gavins (yet).

OTTAWA - The Ottawa REDBLACKS of the Canadian Football League have engraved another chapter in Ottawa's rich sporting legacy with the signing of the first players in team history.

As per team policy, terms of contract agreements are not disclosed.

The team signed the following players (lists position, name, height, weight, college and hometown):

    Wide receiver Fred Rouse, 6-4, 200, Concordia Selma (Tallahassee, Florida)
    Defensive back / safety Nick Turnbull, 6-2, 222, Florida International (Miami)
    Defensive end DiMetrio Tyson, 6-2, 275, Jacksonville State (Elba, Alabama)

Rouse began his collegiate career with Florida State in 2005 and started in the 2006 Orange Bowl for the Seminoles against Penn State. He transferred to the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) before completing his collegiate career with Concordia-Selma in Alabama. He has CFL experience on practice rosters with the Calgary Stampeders and has also played for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League.

Turnbull's final year of college football was in 2005 with Florida International where he led the defence, starting every game at free safety and cornerback. He had 16 career interceptions at Florida International. In 2006, Turnbull played one regular-season game for the Chicago Bears and two games for the Atlanta Falcons.

Nick Turnbull, credit to the FIU website

Tyson started 11 games on the Gamecocks' defensive line in 2012, recording 29 tackles and three sacks. He was named an All-Ohio Valley Conference first-team all-star on defence. His most recent professional experience was with the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League.

"We recognize the historic significance of these signings and it's an important first step for our franchise," said REDBLACKS general manager Marcel Desjardins. "Having said that, we're continuing the work of building a competitive football team for Ottawa and REDBLACKS fans.

"These players will have an opportunity to make our roster once we get onto the field for camp in the spring."

Desjardins and the REDBLACKS' football operations staff continue to assemble the pre-season roster, with the CFL Expansion Draft the next major milestone on December 16. The team will select 24 players from the eight other CFL clubs, including eight import players and 16 non-imports.

The team will hold the first training camp in club history during the spring of 2014. Dates and location of camp are to be determined.

Rouse actually announced himself on Twitter on Tuesday.  He has since been very interactive with a number of Ottawa fans and seems positively ecstatic at the opportunity.

The Ottawa Sun article about this signing focused on a 90-day jail term for one of the players.  I won't copy that here.  By all accounts the player in question appears to have learned from his mistakes.  He's done his time and shouldn't have to answer for it for the rest of his life, especially during what should be a happy occasion for him.

Something not mentioned in the above release: Turnbull is 32 years old, Rouse turns 28 next month and Tyson turned 24 in October.

Do we have our first RedBlack?

As of midnight this morning, the Ottawa RedBlacks could begin signing street free agent.  Earlier today, general manager Marcel Desjardins mentioned on TSN1200 radio that a few contracts had gone out already.

It may be that one has already been accepted, based on this Twitter comment:

LewisGavins
@REDBLACKS just picked up a Great cornerback!! Congrats Jerrell Gavins!!

So who is this guy?  The following article from the Idaho Statesman takes us through some of his university experience.  He last played for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League.

Former Boise State cornerback Jerrell Gavins doesn't know what he'll run in the 40-yard dash Thursday in his long-awaited chance to show NFL scouts his skills.

He isn't worried about it, either.

He hasn't run a 40 in nearly two years because of the knee injury that cost him most of the 2011 season and slowed him at times in 2012.

"All I know is I can play football and shut down receivers," Gavins said. "That's all I can say. I've got film on that."

Gavins was overshadowed last season by teammate Jamar Taylor, who has climbed to No. 4 in the cornerback rankings by ESPN draft analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay.

...

Gavins didn't play in an all-star game or draw a combine invite. He and the other Boise State prospects who didn't attend the combine will perform the same athletic tests done there.

...

Gavins is healthy for the first time since he severely damaged a knee in a freak practice accident three games into the 2011 season. He played every game last season, but coaches eased him back into the lineup.

Gavins combined with Taylor and the rest of the Broncos defense to hold opponents to a national-low four touchdown passes against 18 interceptions (four for Taylor, two for Gavins).

"Since high school, I've thought about this day," said Gavins, whose 5-foot-9 frame is a key liability. "Every day I was in the weight room training, I was thinking about having to bench 225 (pounds, the combine strength test). … That's why I don't feel any pressure. I've prepared for this so much and I've been through it so many times in my mind that whatever happens, happens. I just know I can play football."

For what it's worth, Gavins was credited with 20.5 tackles for the Storm in three games.

So no announcement as of yet, and therefore no confirmation, but since the team had a tryout in Florida a couple of months ago, it would seem likely that Gavins showed up and made an impression.

If so...Good on ya, and welcome aboard, Jerrell!

History: The 1973 Grey Cup Game

Today is not only Grey Cup Sunday, it is also the last day before the Ottawa RedBlacks officially enter the league as a participant.  True, they were involved in the college draft earlier this year, but starting tomorrow the RedBlacks are able to sign street free agents.

In the meantime, let's recognise the 40th anniversary of the 1973 championship team.

When building Capital Region Football between 2007 and this past spring, I would occasionally visit the library in order to print off some old newspaper articles and find some information that wasn't easily found (or found at all) online.  Among the dozens of copies of Citizen, Sun or Free Press articles I brought is the main recap of the 1973 Grey Cup game. It is spread over two pages below.

I apologise for the poor quality of the first page, but it should be easier to read if you right click on it to open it in a separate window.

Racine, Lumsden, Okeke named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame!

I admit that I did not know that the Hall of Fame inductions were last night.  If I had, I would have paid greater attention.

There's a fair amount of Ottawa (or Ottawa-based, at least) content in the 2014 class.  The following is copied from TSN's recap of the event:

(Neil) Lumsden, 60, of London, Ont., enjoyed a stellar college career at Ottawa and in '75 helped the Gee-Gees go 11-0 and capture the Vanier Cup. Lumsden ended his collegiate tenure as the Vanier Cup MVP. He left school first in all-time CIS scoring (410 points) and his 148 points in '75 was second all-time. That season, Lumsden scored 37 points -- including five TDs -- in a single game.

Lumsden played in the CFL from '76 to '85 with Toronto, Hamilton and Edmonton, winning three Grey Cups with the Eskimos (1980-'82) and being named the top Canadian in the '81 contest. Lumsden was also in the Ticats' front office when they won their last league title in '99.

(Moe) Racine, 76, a native of Cornwall, Ont., was an offensive lineman and kicker with Ottawa from 1958-'74, appearing in five Grey Cup games and winning four times. He played 201 career games with the Rough Riders and was an East all-star three times. The franchise retired his No. 62 jersey upon his retirement.

The picture of Racine above was lifted from the cflapedia website and is probably originally from Scott Grant's extensive portfolio.

Can't claim too much "Ottawa-ness" to former offensive lineman Uzooma Okeke, but he did play with the last Rough Riders team in 1996.  He started gathering all-star status fairly regularly the following year (of course...) with Montreal and was with them until 2006.  Played with the Shreveport Pirates prior to joining the Rough Riders so he might be the poster boy for what a quality work environment can do for one's career.

As an aside, I love that the Canadian Hall of Fame is a football Hall of Fame and not a pro football Hall of Fame. If you impact the game significantly at the amateur level, that accomplishment should be recognised.

The OSEG Media Newsroom blog has far more detailed articles on both men.  Give that a look over here.

Jackson Bennett's Big Week

Here's something you don't see every day.  Orleans Online, in their recap of the NCAFA Midget Championship game from November 2nd between the Nepean Redskins and Orleans Bengals, provides the description:

...The Bengals' offence raked up 56 points against a Redskins team that had only allowed 68 points all season long, while the defence managed to hold Nepean's offence to just 39 points.

Jackson Bennett had a monster game for the Bengals, slicing and dicing his way through the Redskins' defence like a hot knife through butter. The fleet-footed running back gained over 500 yards against the top defence in the league and scored seven times to earn MVP honours.

The Bengals only other touchdown was scored by quarterback Thompson Richards, while Alex Gauthier was good on all eight convert attempts.

Think about that for a moment.  500 yards passing would have been pretty damn impressive.  Dude had the equivalent of five good rushing games in one contest.

I've seen the occasional wonky stats report in amateur ball.  But even if this one was fudged by 100 yards it would be insane.

Obviously, the flow of the game has to be cooperative.  Bennett didn't accomplish this by averaging 4.5 yards a carry.  He had to have been in a position to break a bunch of big runs.  And break them he did.

So that done, what did he do the following Saturday?  Orleans Online again:

...With just over three minutes left to go in the game and the Lancers holding on to a three-point lead, Bennett fumbled the ball away on his team's 45-yard line. In his defence, the pigskin was pretty slick thanks to the snowy conditions.

...

Thankfully for Bennett, the St. Peter Knights failed to take advantage of the turn in fortune. After Jarryd Rushford (#33) picked up five yards on first down, the Knights attempted to pass the ball in the less than perfect conditions with predictable results. The pass fell to the ground and Sir Wil took over on downs after the Knights were only able to gain three yards on third and five.

Prior to giving the ball away, Bennett was on pace for an MVP performance. He had run for 150 yards on 14 carries, scored both of the Lancers' touchdowns, and made several key stops on defence including an interception that ended a potential first quarter scoring drive for the Knights.

After Sir Wil got the ball back in the later stages of the fourth quarter, Bennett made sure the Knights never got a second chance to regain the lead. He protected the ball and picked up several key first downs as the clock continued to tick down to under a minute.

The Lancers would cap the 73-yard drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Stephan Kukkonen (#5) to Kurleigh Gittens (#28) that would put the game out of reach for the defending champs.

Bennett added an exclamation point to his performance with a fumble recovery and a 30 yard run back on the Knights final drive of the game. The only thing that would have made his day even more perfect would have been to score on the play, but he was pushed out at the one and the game ended with Kukkonen taking a knee.

...

When you combine his two performances, Bennett has rushed for over 700 yards and scored nine touchdowns. For most running backs that represents a decent season. Bennett did it in two title games against decent defences.

...

Bennett's performance in Saturday's high school championship overshadowed an equally impressive game turned in by Jarryd Rushford who carried the ball 45 times for 166 yards and scored the Knights' opening touchdown in the first quarter. The Lancers responded with an impressive 87-yard drive of their own, capped by Jackson's first touchdown.

With the game tied at seven, the Knights didn't take long to regain the lead on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Pascal Roy-Lapensée (#9) to Patrice Rene (#10). Quinton Soares' (#81) second convert of the game would put the Knights up 14-7 at the half.

The Lancers opened the third quarter with a 22-yard kick return by Cedric Ky (#28). Four plays later, Bennett carried the ball in from 17 yards out after picking up 45 yards on an earlier run. Kousha Aminian-Heidari (#12) would add his second convert of the game to narrow the score at 14 points apiece.

Neither team made much headway during the rest of the quarter. The Lancers managed to take advantage of a favourable wind to move the ball deep into Knights territory near the end of the quarter, but time ran out before they had a chance to attempt a 28-yard field goal with the wind at their back., Instead, Aminian-Heidari had to attempt the kick into the wind and it came up short leaving the game tied 14-14.

Aminian-Heidari would get a second chance two series later and this time he would split the uprights from 25 yards out to give his team the lead for good.

The Lancers eventually scored again to make the final score 24-14 after the Knights failed to take advantage of Bennett's fumble.

Splendid.  At the risk of dating myself, I went to the original Sir Wil prior to the school's move to its current Orleans location so yes, I'm a fan.

Could this be something of a changing of the guard?  St. Peter barely got by St. Pius last year in as good a high school game as I've ever seen.  Sir Wilfrid Wilfrid, meanwhile, had won the Tier Two championship in 2011 and 2012 and now have clutched the title in their first year back at the higher level.  Games between these two schools will take on a new intensity in the coming years, I gather.

Going back to the NCAFA game, this was going to be the last game of the Nepean football club as the Redskins.  On that level, I admit I would have liked to see them win to go out on a high note.  I'm not crazy about the decision, for a number of reason that I will not repeat all over again pointlessly, but I look forward to seeing how their rebrand themselves.

About Bennett specifically, I admit that I didn't know him until these past couple of weekends.  Or if I'd seen him, I don't recall when I did.  But for the sake of posterity, I want to note that he was credited with 85 carries, 739 yards and seven scores for the Bengals.  That's a healthy 8.7 yard average...over five games. So no one should think of him as a fluke.

Last but not least, much appreciation towards Fred Sherwin for the coverage he provides for amateur football on Orleans Online. When it was decided three of the four teams in these games were Orleans clubs, I could be confident that there would be detailed recaps to refer to.  I wish other neighborhood papers could be as supportive and thorough.

All-Time High School Football Championship Rankings

The Sir Wilfrid Laurier Lancers' NCSSAA AAA/AAA championship victory earlier today, 24-14 over the St. Peter program which had won five straight such championships, motivated me to restore the High School Championship grid.

I'm still proof-reading, but I think I've got it.  The year in parentheses is a reference to the last season in which that team won a championship and is used as a tie-breaker.

Glebe               17 (1991)
St. Peter           10 (2012)
St. Pius             8 (1994)
Laurentian           8 (1992)
Ottawa Tech          7 (1957)
St. Patrick          7 (1956)
Fisher Park          5 (1977)
St. Mark             3 (2007)
Ashbury College      3 (2002)
Sir Robert Borden    3 (1989)
J.S. Woodsworth      2 (1982)
Ridgemont            2 (1963)
U. of Ottawa         2 (1931)
Sir Wilfrid Laurier  1 (2013)
Gloucester           1 (1996)
St. Matthew          1 (1995)
Cairine Wilson       1 (1988)
Confederation        1 (1986)
Philemon Wright      1 (1984)
Brookfield           1 (1980)
Colonel By           1 (1979)
Rideau               1 (1971)
Nepean               1 (1966)

I continue to find ironic that Glebe holds such a position in local football in light of the neighborhood's opposition to a (primarily) sports stadium in that area (regardless of their claims to the opposite).  Mind you, most of those championships were achieved in the 30's and 40's, but still.  It's still odd to see a Glebe mention to anything remotely football-related.  I plan to restore the chronological list of champions soon.

Hopefully local media will feature detailed recaps of today's two championship games.  In the Tier Two contest, Mother Teresa defeated St. Joseph 14-07.  Both games were played at Carleton.

2013 CIS Conference All-Stars, Ottawa-style

While I watch former Cumberland Panther Alex Skinner quarterback Laval in the Dunsmore Cup, I thought it would be a good time to review the OUA and CIS award winners that were announced earlier this week, all of whom come from the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

FIRST TEAM

Running Back: Brendan Gillanders - Ottawa
Defensive Tackle: Ettore Lattanzio - Ottawa

SECOND TEAM

Quarterback: Aaron Colbon - Ottawa
Centre:  Shavin Fernando - Ottawa
Guard: Taylor Servais - Ottawa
Safety: Matthew Bond-Lapointe - Ottawa

Let's copy their achievements from the OUA website:

(Brendan) Gillanders’ 1061 all purpose offensive yards was tops among CIS running backs. He scored five touchdowns (3 receiving, 2 rushing)...

Gee-Gee defensive tackle Ettore Lattanzio rounds out the OUA first team defence .The Ottawa native led the OUA and tied for the CIS lead with 10 quarterback sacks.

Lattanzio also earned the J.P. Metras Trophy as the top lineman in the conference.

Ottawa quarterback Aaron Colbon passed for 2490 yards averaging 311.1 yards per game to finish second in OUA. He tossed 20 touchdowns en route to the first all-star recognition of his impressive career in garnet and grey. He is joined on the OUA second team by fifth-year centre Shavin Fernando (Ottawa) and fourth-year guard Taylor Servais (Ottawa).

While Carleton was shut out in their first year back from dormancy, other local players earned OUA honours out of town.

Linebacker Sam Sabourin continued the tradition and earned his third all-star recognition. The Stittsville, Ont., native had 34.5 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions in his fourth-year.

Place kicker Tyler Crapigna (Nepean, Ont.) hit 16 of 19 field goals attempted for an 84% success rate and second team all-star status.

Ottawa has been well-represented in other conferences as well.  Receiver Geoff Conventry made the RSEQ all-star team in gathering 25 receptions for 306 yards and a score for Bishop's.  Out East, two more o-linemen were honoured for their play in Chris Fanning and James Young, both with Acadia, as was the Axemen's kicker, Ryan Begin, an Orleans native.

Last but hardly least, linebacker Ron Omara not only made the AUS all-star team, he was also named the conference's top defensive player.  Omara lists Aylmer, QC, as his hometown.  He was an Ontario Football Conference All-Star for the Ottawa Sooners in 2010.

Flashback, April 30th, 2012: Former QB joins Ottawa CFL team's staff

When gradually preparing the "Flashback" series of RedBlacks posts, my intention was to add them chronologically.

A Twitter comment by Arash Madani (former Renegades media relations man) reminded me of a stepping stone in the team's formation which I'd overlooked.  In my own defense, it was a quiet one and very lightly reported.

Madani mentioned that Rick Worman has "virtually secured" a scouting type of position with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Worman's name was familiar because in April of last year, the Redblacks "announced" the hiring of Rick Worman as a scout.  I quote "announced" because it was more of a mention in a radio interview.  Shortly thereafter, the Ottawa Sun had an article about it.  Here's a portion of that:

...Former CFL QB, coach and scout Rick Worman has been working for the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group since mid-March, scouting the U.S. college football scene.

And while that initially may sound odd, the Ottawa CFL team will be allowed to participate in next year's Canadian college draft -- but will only be able to select fourth-year Canadians who have been redshirted and who have used up only three years of eligibility...

"Who's going to be available with the ninth or 18th pick in the draft? I don't know. But of the 17, four or five have the potential to be starters," said Worman, 48, who quarterbacked in Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton and Saskatchewan and also spent time in a variety of coaching positions.

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind adventure for Worman -- lots of time in airports and in rental cars.

"I've been from Virginia to Florida to Alabama to North Dakota to Indiana to Michigan to Utah to Oregon. I was in 10 states in 10 days. It was crazy. It seems like I've been everywhere," said Worman, who spent last season as running backs coach in Hamilton.

With a mutual CFL connection, Worman and OSEG's Jeff Hunt started talking in January.

"We couldn't let this opportunity pass," said Hunt. "We've always believed time is an asset and this is a start."

"I wasn't going back to Hamilton with the coaching change, so this really intrigued me," said Worman. "I know a lot about the league, I was part of it for 15 years. The CFL is ingrained in my blood.

"Jeff's motivation was to hit the ground running. It wasn't like I get my jollies out of travel, but they wanted me to put together a plan of attack. This is really intriguing, starting this thing from ground zero. I was part of an expansion team in Fresno (Arena Football League), and we started with Ricky Ray as our quarterback."

It was important for the Ottawa CFL group to get some eyes watching the U.S. college spring camps, with about a six-week window to do it.

"Some of these guys are good players at big schools in a backup capacity," said Worman. "So it's hard to evaluate a guy if you don't have video. In spring camp, every guy gets time on the field. It's a big deal. There were 40,000 people at the game in Oregon. This gives me a chance to watch them and list them one to 17."

The comment section to that article includes a nice endorsement from former Ottawa Rough Rider Ken  Evraire (not to mention a little bit of prophecy) :

Rick is a football guy through and through. Could not have picked a better guy for the job. If the team is looking for a Canadian scout may I suggest Miles Gorrell.

Worman quietly went about his business, then in March of this year, I found out that he had been "let go" by the RedBlacks.  Again, it was in a Twitter post and not a news article as such.  This time it was by AJ Akubec from what is now TSN1200 radio.

I question the use of the term "let go".  It implies a firing.  Due to the timing between the mention of Worman's involvement with the club and his departure time, I suspect that it's simply a matter of Worman's contract running out and not being renewed.  Marcel Desjardins was hired as General Manager two months earlier and, understandably, would have preferred to name his own staff.

Be that as it may, the foundation-building for this franchise in fact began with Worman.  I doubt that down the road he will get credit for it, so for what incredibly little it's worth, I want to include it here.