QB Dru Brown driven to succeed as he returns for Ottawa Redblacks

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It’s tough to put a finger on any one thing that differentiates the 2024 Ottawa Redblacks from the team that won just 14 games the previous four seasons.

There’s a lot to digest, too much video to get lost in, a lot to analyze.

Really, it’s a bit of everything. Better special teams. Better defence. And better offence. Play better, win more.

At the centre of the success is Dru Brown, who’s coming off an ankle injury and returning to his role as the Redblacks’ starting quarterback in a home game Saturday against the B.C. Lions.

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It’s not like the 27-year-old Brown’s statistics are off-the-charts good — he’s thrown for 1,936 yards, with six touchdown tosses and just four interceptions. But he’s given the team consistency and stability at a position that’s been so much of a question mark for way too long.

Also, there’s this: Brown isn’t satisfied. He wants more.

The Redblacks are 6-2-1. But it’s what he believes he’s able to contribute that pushes Brown. It’s a motor, an inner drive that thirsts for excellence.

“I’m growing,” he said following Tuesday’s practice at TD Place. “I have really good guidance, I have special players around me and I’m constantly learning. I’m by no means a finished product, nowhere close. I don’t feel like people need to adapt to what I do. I want to be able to adapt to what people are good at. I’m obsessed with the incline I try to chase every day.”

The thing with this year’s Redblacks is they’re winning games that got away the past few seasons. Many CFL games come down to the final three minutes, and in their losing years, the Redblacks couldn’t put the hammer down.

“You make it to where you have multiple ways you can win a game,” said Brown. “That’s balance. People talk about 50-50 — run, pass; it’s whatever it takes to win a game. We have the ability to run the ball, we have the ability to light them up throwing the ball.

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“There are some teams that don’t want it to come down to (near the end of the game); we invite it. No one here is going to sit there and say, ‘Oh, I really hope we don’t have to be in that situation.’ We stay focused and mentally prepare ourselves to go out there and execute during those moments.”

The winning mentality goes back to training camp, according to head coach Bob Dyce.

“It started in the beginning,” he said. “The work these guys put in allowed us to be in a position to win those games. We won one early like that, you win a second one and you move forward from there. We brought in some guys who were good leaders, we brought in some young guys who have really fit in and things have ended positively. It’s a whole locker room working together. It’s going to take everyone in the room.”

Brown, who was injured in a 22-22 tie with Saskatchewan two weeks ago, sat out last week’s dramatic 31-29 win over Calgary, with a 51-yard Lewis Ward field goal deciding it on the final play. In that game, Jeremiah Masoli, returning from a ruptured left Achilles tendon last season, provided some of the heroics. It was a feel-good story for a veteran quarterback and former CFL Most Outstanding Player runner-up, who fought through a long string of bad luck.

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Masoli, who also had a torn ACL in 2019 and a fracture in his right leg in 2022, completed 27 of 35 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown against Calgary.

“It was a long time coming; there was a lot of hard work put in not only by myself, but there were so many people involved,” said Masoli. “All the support, the messages I got — it meant a lot. It pushes you to keep going.”

But it’s Brown time again. He’s, without question, the starting quarterback. No controversy.

“I’m feeling good,” said Brown.

“We talked to Dru, we talked to the medical staff, if Dru is healthy, Dru starts,” said Dyce. “If you look at the games, (Dru has) started, we have a 5-1 record. He was back out there today (in practice) taking first-team reps. He looked good, he looked comfortable.

“We have a fantastic quarterback room — all four guys have done a great job since they’ve been here. In the CFL, you have to have at least two guys. We have a great comfort level in Dru and Jeremiah. It gives you confidence — heaven forbid something happens to Dru — somebody can step in and operate the offence very well. Competition is always a great thing. Everybody pushes each other. They work hard together to be great.”

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THE END AROUND

The Redblacks have moved up from third to second in the CFL power rankings, behind only Montreal … The Lions jumped out to a 5-1 start to the season, but have lost four straight since … B.C. is favoured to beat Ottawa; the Lions started as 4.5-point favourites, but it’s dropped to as low as one point … In his return to B.C. in Sunday’s 20-11 loss to Winnipeg, Lions QB Nathan Rourke was rusty, completing 8 of 25 passes for 126 yards, with two interceptions. It was the first time he’d seen significant game action in nearly two full years.

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