The Ottawa Redblacks released twelve players on Saturday to get down to 85 players as training camp opens up on Sunday. Among those that were released were defensive lineman Davon Coleman, Praise Martin-Oguike, and defensive back Isaiah Huff.
The other players the Redblacks released are defensive back Jeremiah Baltrip, defensive back Al Young, defensive linemen Alain Cimankinda, Keyshawn James, Wallace Cowins, and Shaiheem Charles-Brown, running back Deon McIntosh, wide receivers Adonicas Sanders, and Malik Williams.
In addition, offensive lineman Peter Kourtis retired, defensive back Skyler Thomas was placed on the suspended list, and wide receiver Bralon Addison went on the 6-game injured list.
Davon Coleman is six foot one and weighs 282 pounds. The Redblacks released Coleman back three months ago before re-signing him last month. The 32-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio, made 16 tackles, four sacks, one touchdown, and two forced fumbles in 14 games for the Redblacks in 2022.
Coleman played two seasons in Ottawa with 48 tackles, eight sacks, one touchdown, and two forced fumbles in 28 games. The Redblacks signed Coleman as a free agent in 2021.
Coleman signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a free agent in 2017. He played one season with 41 tackles and five sacks in 17 games. Then, he signed with the B.C. Lions in 2018. Coleman played one and half seasons with 69 tackles, nine sacks, and three interceptions in 26 games before the Lions traded him to Toronto in 2019. He made 16 tackles and two sacks with the Argonauts in 2019.
Before coming to the CFL, Coleman signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He played four games for the Cowboys with three tackles. Afterward, he had brief stints with the Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and New York Giants.
Collegiately, Coleman played one season at Fort Scott Community College in 2010 with 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles, and two pass breakups. Then, he transferred to Arizona State (2011-13) with 153 tackles, 15.5 sacks, three pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and two blocked kicks in 38 games for the Sun Devils.
Praise Martin-Oguike is six foot one and weighs 258 pounds. The 29-year-old from Woodbridge, New Jersey, made 12 tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble in nine games for the Redblacks in 2022.
This will be Martin-Oguike’s third season in Ottawa. The Redblacks signed Martin-Oguike as a free agent on June 4th, 2021. In two seasons with the Redblacks, Martin-Oguike has 33 tackles, seven sacks, and one forced fumble in 18 games.
Before joining Ottawa, Martin-Oguike signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He also spent time with the Arizona Cardinals. In 2020, the Seattle Dragons (XFL) drafted Martin-Oguike in the tenth round (78th pick). He made nine tackles and one quarterback hit in five games before the league ceased operations due to COVID-19.
Collegiately, Martin-Oguike played four seasons at Temple (2011, 2014-16) with 123 tackles, 19 sacks, one interception, two pass breakups, 11 forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, and six blocked kicks in 47 games for the Owls.
Martin-Oguike is a two-time All-American Athletic Conference Second Team (2014, 2016), ECAC First Team All-Star (2016), and All-AAC First Team by College Sports Madness (2014).
Isaiah Huff is five foot eight and weighs 185 pounds. The 25-year-old from Windsor, Connecticut, made 31 tackles, two interceptions, 17 pass breakups, and one blocked kick in 11 games for the Greyhounds. He helped the Greyhounds claim the Northeast-10 Conference championship for the third time in program history.
Huff was named to the Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America Second Team, In addition, Huff was named First Team All-Conference, All-New England, and D2CCA All-Super Region 1 honoree.
In 2021, Huff was named All-New England Team by the New England Football Writers Association. That season, Huff had 16 tackles, two interceptions, one touchdown, eight pass breakups, 18 kick returns for 717 yards, one touchdown, and three punt returns for 29 yards in nine games.
Huff began his collegiate career at Hampton University (2017-18) with two tackles in seven games. Then, Huff transferred to Assumption University (2019, 2021-22) with 55 tackles, four interceptions, one touchdown, 30 pass breakups, one blocked kick, 54 kick returns for 1,620 yards, one touchdown, and 12 punt returns for 93 yards.
He attended Windsor High School where he was named to the Connecticut All-Star Team in his senior year along with being a two-time all-conference and All-Hartford Courant laurels in 2014 and 2015.
Jeremiah Baltrip is six foot two and weighs 195 pounds. The 26-year-old from Tampa, Florida, played three seasons at Southeastern Oklahoma State University (2018-19, 2021) with 56 tackles, two interceptions, 12 pass breakups, and six punt returns for 195 yards in 21 games. He was an Honorable Mention All-GAC selection in 2019.
Al Young is five foot eleven and weighs 195 pounds. The 26-year-old from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent. Collegiately, Young played five seasons at Southeast Missouri State (2016-20). He made 71 tackles, seven interceptions, one touchdown, 26 pass breakups, one forced fumble, one blocked kick, two kick returns for 44 yards, and nine punt returns for 79 yards in 40 games for the Redhawks.
In his final season, Young had 15 tackles, two interceptions, one touchdown, seven pass breakups, and five punt returns for 28 yards in eight games. Then, Young went to Jackson State in 2021 as a graduate transfer with 23 tackles, two interceptions, 13 pass breakups, and two fumble recoveries in 12 games.
Alain Cimankinda is six foot one and weighs 280 pounds. The 27-year-old from the Democratic Republic of the Congo played one game for the Redblacks and one game for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2022. The Roughriders drafted Cimankinda in the fourth round (35th pick) in the 2021 CFL Draft. He spent his rookie year on the Saskatchewan’s practice squad.
Collegiately, Cimankinda played three seasons at the University of Guelph (2017-19) with 53 tackles (40 solo, 26 assists), 21 tackles for loss, 16.6 sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and two pass breakups in 23 games for the Gryphons. He was named a Second Team OUA All-Star in 2019.
Keyshawn James is six foot three and weighs 280 pounds. The 25-year-old from Cayce, South Carolina, attended rookie minicamp for the New England Patriots in 2022.
Collegiately, James played four seasons at Fayetteville State (2017-19, 2021) with 228 tackles, 30 sacks, one pass breakup, 11 forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one blocked kick in 40 games for the Broncos. He is a two All-CIAA First Teams and was named the CIAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2021.
Wallace Cowins is six foot four and weighs 240 pounds. The 24-year-old from Conyers, Georgia, had 49 tackles, 4.5 sacks, one pass breakup, four forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries in his final year with the Lions in 2021. He was named All-Big South Conference First Team.
Collegiately, Cowins played one season at Georgia Military in 2017 with 18 tackles in nine games. Then, Cowins transferred to Coastal Carolina in 2018 with eight tackles in ten games. After the season, Cowins transferred to North Alabama (2019-21) with 138 tackles, 6.5 sacks, five pass breakups, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.
In 2019, Cowins was named Second Team of Phil Steele’s All-Big South Conference after making 66 tackles, two sacks, four pass breakups, and one fumble recovery in 11 games.
Shaiheem Charles-Brown is six foot four and weighs 240 pounds. The 27-year-old from Montreal, Quebec, attended the Redblacks training camp in 2022.
Collegiately, Charles-Brown played three seasons at Carleton (2017-19) with 48 tackles, 6.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, and one pass breakup in 24 games. In addition, Charles-Brown played one season for the Langley Rams (BCFC) in 2016 with 34 tackles, nine sacks, one forced fumble, two blocks, and four pass breakups in 11 games.
Deon McIntosh is six foot and weighs 200 pounds. The 25-year-old from Pompano Beach, Florida, went undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft and later took part in the XFL combine.
Collegiately, McIntosh played one season at Notre Dame in 2017 with 65 carries for 379 yards, five touchdowns, and three catches for eight yards in eight games for the Fighting Irish.
Then, he transferred to East Mississippi Community College in 2018 with 200 carries for 1,150 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 19 catches for 113 yards in 12 games for the Lions. He was named NJCAA All-America Second Team and MVP of MACJC North Division.
Afterward, McIntosh transferred to Washington State (2019-21) with 179 carries for 966 yards, seven touchdowns, 33 catches for 251 yards, three touchdowns, and one kick return for five yards for the Cougars.
In his final season, McIntosh had 111 carries for 532 yards, three touchdowns, 14 catches for 108 yards, one touchdown, and one kick return for five yards in 11 games.
Adonicas Sanders is six foot one and weighs 190 pounds. The 24-year-old from North Charleston, South Carolina, recently visited the Green Bay Packers.
Sanders played one season at Temple University in 2022 with 37 catches for 437 yards, two touchdowns, and six carries for 22 yards in nine games for the Owls. Before Temple, Sanders played five seasons at Georgia Tech (2017-21) with 65 catches for 834 yards, and four touchdowns in 14 games for the Yellow Jackets.
Malik Williams is five foot ten and weighs 185 pounds. The 24-year-old from Chester, South Carolina, signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. He attended the Bills’ rookie minicamp and OTA before being released.
Collegiately, Williams played five seasons at Appalachian State (2017-21) with 194 catches for 2,409 yards, 17 touchdowns, 112 carries for 534 yards, three touchdowns, 5 of 12 completions (41.7%) for 121 yards, five touchdowns, nine kick returns for 195 yards, 22 punt returns for 249 yards, and one tackle in 73 games for the Mountaineers.
In his final year at Appalachian State, Williams had 52 catches for 819 yards, seven touchdowns, two carries for 13 yards, completed one of two passes for 34 yards, one touchdown, four kick returns for 101 yards, and nine punt returns for 90 yards in 14 games.
In 2019, Williams was named Second-Team All-Sun Belt from PFF College and All-Sun Belt honorable mention, Third-team All-Sun Belt from the league/Phil Steele in 2020, and All-Sun Belt Second Team in 2021.
Peter Kourtis is six foot six and weighs 300 pounds. The 25-year-old from Toronto, Ontario, attended training camp for the Edmonton Elks in 2021 and 2022. The Elks drafted Kourtis in the fifth round (41st pick) of the 2021 CFL Draft.
Collegiately, Kourtis played 34 games in five seasons as a center and guard at St. Mary’s University (2017-22) with four tackles and one tackle for loss. In his final season in 2022, Kourtis played six games for the Huskies.
Skyler Thomas is five foot nine and weighs 185 pounds. The 25-year-old from Riverside, California, signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2022 but was released during training camp.
Collegiately, Thomas played four seasons at Washington State (2016-19) with 152 tackles (89 solo, 63 assisted), 3.5 tackles for loss, six interceptions for 90 yards, 11 pass breakups, and two fumble recoveries in 28 games for the Cougars.
In his final season at Washington State, Thomas had 72 tackles, two tackles for loss, four interceptions for 72 yards, seven pass breakups, and two fumble recoveries in 28 games. In the 2019 Cheez-It Bowl, Thomas had six tackles, one interception, and one pass breakup against Air Force.
Then, Thomas transferred to Liberty in 2021 with 55 tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions for 27 yards, one touchdown, three pass breakups, and one forced fumble in 13 games for the Flames.
