A standout during training camp, he’ll play his first CFL regular-season game against the Elks in Edmonton on Sunday.
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Not only has Ottawa Redblacks quarterback Dru Brown officially been cleared to start Sunday’s game in Edmonton, but he’ll also have a new speedy receiver in his arsenal.
With Bralon Addison sidelined by an Achilles tendon strain, making his much-anticipated Canadian Football League debut will be Kalil Pimpleton, a 25-year old rookie who was a standout during Ottawa’s training camp.
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And Brown is looking forward to seeing Pimpleton in regular-season action as much as anyone.
“He’s obviously extremely talented, very coachable, loves playing … He has infectious energy in the huddle, which is always nice,” Brown said. “He brings a little bit of youth there, which is always awesome to be around.
“It seems like I’ve thrown him 1,000 balls already. He’s been here as long as I have. His ability to separate and make plays and catch the ball, he’s kind of got everything going for him.”
The 5-7, 172-pound Pimpleton was a standout at Redblacks training camp, but couldn’t crack the roster because the team has four veteran American receivers as well as return specialist DeVonte Dedmon, who has 23 catches in his Canadian Football League career.
Pimpleton’s college days included three seasons at Central Michigan, where he was the Mid-American Conference special teams player of the year in 2021 for his kick returning.
That same season he caught 62 passes for 959 yards and four touchdowns in just 11 starts, earning first-team, All-MAC wide receiver honours.
While he wasn’t selected in the National Football League draft, Pimpleton had off-season stints with the Detroit Lions (where his juggling skills were revealed on the Hard Knocks series) and the New York Giants.
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“I’ve been waiting for my opportunity, and it’s here,” Pimpleton said. “I’m ready to seize the moment.”
And it could be just a moment, as it sounds like Addison’s injury isn’t considered serious.
Head coach Bob Dyce termed it “time to rest” with a jammed part of the schedule that will also have the Redblacks hosting the Elks in Ottawa next Friday.
Asked if he considered Pimpleton to be in the same mold as Chris Williams and Diontae Spencer, two dynamic, diminutive players who were with the Redblacks when he was an assistant coach, Dyce replied:
“Those are some pretty good players you’re talking about. Does he have the potential to be that type of player? One hundred per cent. When you look at the quickness he exhibits, and the top-end speed … some guys who are fast maybe aren’t great route runners, but KP has shown the ability to not only run vertical, but he does a great job of not only understanding movement in our league and just run fantastic routes.
“One of the things that really impressed me about KP is the fact, even for guy who’s shown so well, he’s come out here and he’s busting his tail every single day, whether he has an opportunity on the scout team or he’s jumping in with the first group. He comes out there, he’s mentally prepared and he’s ready to go and he plays at a high level all the time.
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“We talk about one of the biggest things is consistency, and you always know what you’re gonna get out of KP.”
Pimpleton, meanwhile, believes he can make an immediate impact.
“I’m very, very confident,” he said. “I’m out there competing with the guys every day. I’m with the best of the best, day in and day out. We’re all professional athletes, and we carry ourselves as such. With being a professional athlete, there’s a sense of confidence that you have to have within yourself, to be able to get out there and perform at your very best.
“I do feel that I am very confident in my ability to come out and help my team, along with them helping me as well.”
His arrival on the scene comes at a good time.
The Redblacks were struggling offensively with only three points when Brown, completed just two of six passes for 24 yards, left the Winnipeg game after 29 minutes after taking a hit to the head.
“I felt like they had a good plan,” Brown said. “I felt like we had a good plan, too. We just really lacked
execution on second down. But they make it tough on you. It was a little bit of a struggle there.”
That said, there’s a reason Brown is the Redblacks’ No. 1 quarterback. He is their best option. He gives them their best opportunity to win.
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While he was unable to finish what he started in Winnipeg, Brown smoothly moved from a limited status to full participant in practices this past week.
He said he held no animosity from the bell-ringing incident.
“I think he was just playing ball, really,” Brown said of the hit from his former Winnipeg teammate, Redha Kramdi. “I know Redha. We’ve broke bread together. I don’t feel any type of way. At the end of the day, things happen fast out there. I know that he’s not a malicious dude.
“I signed up for the game. He shouldn’t feel any type of way. It’s just kind of one of those things. Really happy that obviously we were kind of able to swiftly go through everything.”
GOING DEEP
It appears Redblacks linebacker Frankie Griffin (hip) will be unable to play Sunday. Davion Taylor, a talented individual who took an untimely facemask penalty against the Blue Bombers, will take Griffin’s roster spot … While putting special-teams player Nigel Romick (hamstring) on the six-game injured list, the Redblacks added former Guelph Gryphons offensive lineman Eric Starczala to their game roster … The CFL announced that Kramdi had been assessed the maximum fine for his high hit on a sliding Brown, and Redblacks DB Tobias Harris also received the maximum fine for his spear on sliding Blue Bombers QB Chris Streveler in the same game. It was also announced that Ottawa running back Ryquell Armstead had been fined for violating the CFL Code of Conduct by verbally abusing an official in Winnipeg … Montreal Alouettes have added to their practice roster Michael Domagala, the former Carleton Ravens kicker who played for the Redblacks when Lewis Ward was injured last season.
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