The new-look Ottawa REDBLACKS are in Saskatchewan this week to clash with the defending Grey Cup champion Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium at 9 p.m. ET on Friday night.

Ottawa underwent a series of changes this past week after falling to 0-7 on the season with their loss to the Montreal Alouettes at TD Place this past Friday. Following the game, the club relieved defensive coordinator Will Fields of his duties and shifted special teams coordinator Jeff Reinebold over to lead the defence. The club also released veteran receiver Eugene Lewis and starting boundary corner Shakur Brown over the weekend.

Head Coach Ryan Dinwiddie says the move aims to simplify things on the defensive side of the ball with Reinebold at the helm.

“We want to simplify things for our defence and have less thinking out on the field and be more reactionary,” said coach Dinwiddie. “Jeff’s done it before, obviously, he’s been a defensive coordinator and I know he knows defence. Jeff and I were talking about some of the things we want to do schematically and that was pretty seamless.”

With the release of Brown, veteran Demerio Houston slides over from field corner and rookie Shadwel Nkuba will get a shot at field corner at Mosaic. The 24-year-old Illinois State product offers the REDBLACKS some youth and athleticism at field corner, the latter, of course, is essential for the position.

“He’s got some twitch to him, some recovery speed, and he can drive on balls, so I like his man coverage ability,” said coach Dinwiddie.

Another key change sees Canadian linebacker Lucas Cormier take over the starting WILL spot. Cormier has factored in over the past few games, particularly in passing situations, with AJ Allen seeing more of his work as a prototypical linebacker.

On the offensive end, American Cade McDonald slides into the starting receiving spot left by Lewis. McDonald has seen action in six of the seven games so far this season and has posted eight receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown.

LAST TIME OUT

The REDBLACKS and Roughriders met once already earlier this season, dropping a close contest at TD Place, falling 27-22 last month.

Justin Hardy led the way on the offensive side for Ottawa, posting five receptions for 92 yards, while McDonald posted four receptions for 30 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. Bryson Barnes also punched one in on short yardage.

Defensively, Amari Henderson, Alonzo Addae and the now-injured Nyles Morgan each led the REDBLACKS with five tackles and former Riders linebacker AJ Allen picked off his former quarterback. Special teams ace Brian Cole II also picked up a blocked punt in the contest.

Saskatchewan’s KeeSean Johnson led the game with 137 receiving yards and a score, and on the defensive side, linebacker Jameer Thurman picked up the game’s only sack.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

The Riders are coming off a close 28-26 victory in Edmonton last Saturday. They currently sit at 5-2, one win back of the Elks for first in the West.

They’re currently without star running back A.J. Ouellette, who’s been out since July 23 with an injury. Linebacker Josh Woods is also listed as a game-time decision; the California native currently is tied for the league lead in tackles for loss.

Canadian receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker has gotten off to a tremendous start for the Riders this season, posting 45 receptions for 704 yards and four touchdowns, trailing only the Montreal duo of Snead and Philpot amongst the league’s yardage leaders.

Short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens has been a weapon for Saskatchewan this season and is coming off a three-touchdown performance last week. He currently leads the league with eight rushing touchdowns and ran for 38 yards on eight carries in the last meeting between Ottawa and Saskatchewan.

IN THEIR WORDS

“We know it’s going to be a tough environment to play in, packed house- what else could you ask for on the road? We’ve got to be ready to step up to the stage” Head Coach Ryan Dinwiddie on what he expects from the crowd in Saskatchewan.

“I love it. He told us he’s going to play into (our strengths),” said defensive captain Mike Wakefield. “He told us he went back and looked at all the things that we do best and that’s what we’re going to do. All of our best playcalls, we’re going to run those.

“It’s just positivity. We’ve got to find ways to get better, and we’ve obviously got to critique some things, but I think we need to keep that locker room positive. Even in the coaching staff, we’ve got to keep it positive. Obviously 0-7 is going to add a lot of stress on a lot of folks, but at the end of the day we know where we’re at, and we need to make sure we do our jobs,” said Head Coach and General Manager Ryan Dinwiddie.

REDBLACKS head to Regina to take on the Roughriders