Frye latest to ‘jump into the fire’ in Redblacks’ secondary

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Most impressive about the Ottawa Redblacks’ start to the season might be the fact that they’ve not just survived but thrived despite losing their two starting cornerbacks at training camp and their third-best player at the position in Game 2.

Even with a depleted secondary, only the two division leaders, Toronto and Saskatchewan, have allowed fewer points than the 161 given up by Ottawa at the one-third mark of the schedule.

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The back line took another hit against Edmonton last Friday when defensive back Tobias Harris went down with a leg injury that, while landing him on the six-game reserve list, is not as serious as first feared.

Likely to step up and fill his spot this week when the Redblacks attempt to improve to 5-2 against the Calgary Stampeders at TD Place is Adrian Frye, a 25-year-old Texas Tech product who was cut at camp when an injury prevented him from fully showcasing his wares.

Frye’s last game action was the three-pack of pre-season opportunities he had with the New Orleans Saints in 2023.

“This is a different style of football, of course,” the 5-foot-11, 196-pounder said of the adjustment he’s had to make to the Canadian game at Ottawa’s camp. “I had to get acclimated and things like that, and it kind of hit me hard. The more I was getting handed things, the more I started to read everything the right way, understand what things look like and the game as a whole, the rules and regulations and all of that … the moment I was getting the hang of it, I get banged up and I’m sat down. That kind of sucked. I wanted to play.

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“Throughout the whole thing, the coaches were behind me. They didn’t say, ‘OK, well, next guy, you can go back home.’ They didn’t do me like that. I was just glad that I had an opportunity to come back when I got healthy.”

Frye has become used to adapting ever since he left Texas Tech, the college home of Kansas City Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes — a player who has left indelible footprint in Lubbock, Texas.

“I got there right after he left … he got drafted in 2017, in April, and my first day was June,” said Frye, who explained there was still a “crazy amount” of Mahomes talk around campus when he arrived. “His rookie year (in the NFL), he didn’t really do anything unexpected yet, but then it was like Super Bowl after Super Bowl after Super Bowl. It was over with after that. He pretty much runs the city. Whenever he comes back for a home game, or homecoming and stuff, they pretty much deck it out with Mahomes stuff.”

Frye missed five games in each of his last two years of college ball, which essentially crushed his chances of getting drafted by an NFL team, but he did get a good look in the tryout with the Saints.

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The experience in New Orleans taught him a lot.

“Man, it was surreal,” said Frye “That was a veteran locker room. Cam Jordan is in there, Alvin Kamara is in there, Derek Carr was in there, Tyrann Mathieu, Marcus Maye, Demario Davis … there was a whole lot of experience. There was also like six, seven coaches in the locker room itself. They have so much knowledge pouring into us rookies, it was kind of crazy. There was never a question I didn’t get answered, because those guys knew everything. They knew things before it was coming.”

He also learned a thing or two from one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks, Marshon Lattimore.

“He’s a creative player,” said Frye. “Some of the things he knows that are coming, and the things he can do … you can’t make that up. Whenever I did have questions for him, he helped me a lot. Him, Marcus Maye and Tyrann and Bradley Roby … they did help a lot when I was down there.”

The adjustment from college to the NFL game was significant, said Frye.

“The instinct down there was crazy, and then the speed of the game was a little different … you’ve got to read everything a whole lot faster,” he explained. “You’ve got to know a lot more.

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“When I was in college, nobody ran under the centre, nobody snapped the ball under the centre,” Frye added, meaning he became accustomed to shotgun formations. “Coming into camp, seeing the quarterback under the centre, it was kind of like going back to square one. I hadn’t seen that since I was in Little League when I was 12. It was very different. Fast, real, very raw.”

Frye will also notice a big difference playing at TD Place, which will likely again draw a crowd of somewhere in the 20,000 neighbourhood, from Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, which has a capacity of 73,208.

Whether or not the place was full for the two pre-season games he played there — against Kansas City and Houston — Frye said the Superdome maintained its reputation of being one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL.

“It’s like a football field right in the middle of a party,” he said. “TV timeouts, the crowd is going crazy. Jimmy Graham came back the year I was there, so him being there for the first time in however long, the crowd went crazy. Then there was Alvin Kamara walking onto the field with Mark Ingram … there was a whole lot going on. Fans loved it.”

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Frye knows he’ll have to do his best to impress against the Stampeders. Injured defensive backs Brandin Dandridge and Alijah McGhee getting closer to returning.

“I’m excited about the prospects of both of them (coming back),” said head coach Bob Dyce. “I don’t think we’ll see them this week, but I’m excited to see where they are as they develop. When you seen them out there working scout team … you saw B-Dan make an interception yesterday and Alijah is out there pressing to get there … they’re right on the cusp.”

Likely not far behind is Monshadrik (Money) Hunter, who was injured in the Redblacks’ worst outing of the season in Montreal.

“When you count Money in that group, that’s probably the top three corners coming out of training camp,” said Dyce. “It’s caused young guys to step in at different positions. The coaches have had those guys prepared, and those guys have jumped right into the fire and competed well. Very proud of those guys.”

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GOING DEEP

Also progressing is quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who because of injuries has only played in five games over the past two seasons. “He’s right there ,” said Dyce. “He spent six weeks on on the sixth game and this is week seven … you see him out there on the field, now that he’s able to practice, taking scout team reps, I think mentally he’s there, I think emotionally he’s there and I think physically he’s there.” So where exactly does that leave him? “Now that he’s out on the field, he’s able to work his arm a little bit more and get a little bit more mobile and ready to play,” said Dyce. But with Dru Brown the unquestioned starter, Dustin Crum at backup and Tyrie Adams as the third QB, the Redblacks have to figure out where the rusty, 35-year-old Masoli fits. “We definitely have a plan,” said Dyce. “(GM) Shawn (Burke) and I talk about these things  … we always plan for the future.”

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