With training camp and the CFL Draft approaching, it is impossible to not be hyped up about football again. Of course with the new CFL season about to start, fans and fantasy footballers will start throwing their predictions around. So let’s get a few of our own Redblacks player predictions down for one of the most interesting teams to talk about going into the new season, the Ottawa Redblacks.
Ottawa Redblacks Player Predictions
The Ottawa Redblacks were the talk of the CFL for much of last season, and have improved even more in the off-season by adding quarterback Trevor Harris. Going into this season, the Redblacks will have a great quarterback duo, with Harris backing up the CFL’s most outstanding player award winner of last year, Henry Burris. At running back, the Redblacks have kept William Powell, who stepped up huge time last year after running back Jeremiah Johnson went down for the season with an injury. These three players are looking to have great years on the same team. Here are my statistical predictions for this season for each of those three players.
1.) Quarterback Henry Burris: 6 Games, 1600 Yards, 14 Touchdowns
Burris was the CFL’s 2015 Most Outstanding Player, starting all 18 games for Ottawa. He completed 481/678 passes (71% completions), 5693 yards, and 26 touchdowns. And Burris is a mobile quarterback: in rushing last season, he put up 274 yards on 75 carries and rushed for seven touchdowns himself. If you think that is impressive, it’s topped by this next stat: Burris set the record for most completions in a game (45 passes completed on 53 attempts). Now that is impressive stuff.
Henry is going to be a year older now going into the 2016 season. He is expected to be Ottawa’s starting quarterback at the beginning of the season, but is he going to be able to keep the starting role? After arguably one of his best seasons in football and the addition of Trevor Harris, we don’t know what to expect going into the 2016 season. With Harris now on Ottawa’s roster, you might expect it to be tough for Burris to hold on to the starting role, but he has shown that he is still capable of putting up good stats when the team needs him the most.
2.) Quarterback Trevor Harris: 12 Games, 4000 Yards, 30 Touchdowns
This was the biggest splash Ottawa made in the 2015 off-season: signing a reliable future quarterback who would deliver. Trevor Harris started most of the games for the Toronto Argonauts last season, completing 382/538 passes (71% completion). He threw for 4354 yards, third-best in the league, and struck for a league-best 33 touchdowns.
He has a future in Ottawa for sure, but the big question is, will he take over the starting role for Burris this season? You may not expect it to happen right away, if at all, but he does have a good shot at it after putting up those stats last season. If he can continue the great play he had last season with a brand new receiving corps, no doubt he will find success in Canada’s capital.
3.) Running back William Powell: 1500 Yards
William Powell is about to be the full-time starting running back in Ottawa this yeah, coming off of a great season. In seven games last season, Powell rushed for 447 yards on 76 carries and ran for a pair of touchdowns. He has also shown that he can be a threat on the receiving end, posting 158 yards and a touchdown on 19 catches.
After losing Jeremiah Johnson last season to injury, Powell came in the starting role, stepped up, and did his job. He is expected to have a breakout year. You could expect Ottawa to run the ball a bit more this season with an even faster running back in the starting role.
Ottawa fans are in for a great and fun year. There is lots to look forward to on this Ottawa Redblacks football team going into this season.
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