Klassen gives Ottawa his stamp of approval
The Ottawa Redblacks went into the 2018 Canadian Football League season unsure about how they were going to utilize their Canadian content — needing seven of them to start.
One of the options was to go with six nationals on offence — four on the offensive line and two receivers — with safety Antoine Pruneau the lone Canadian on defence.
Michael Klassen has helped make the decision a lot easier. The 27-year-old defensive lineman, signed as a free agent in the offseason, has stepped in as a starter and is playing at a high level. Now, on Thursday night, he’s going to line up against plenty of familiar faces — he’s from Calgary, he went to the University of Calgary and he was a Stampeder last season. Two weeks ago, he played in the 24-14 Redblacks loss in Calgary.
“It’s always weird and special going back and playing your old team,” said Klassen, who also spent four years in Montreal after being drafted in the fourth round of the 2013 CFL draft by the Alouettes. “I still know more than half the team, I practised against those guys every day last year. It was a good homecoming, I guess, for me. It was fun. Hopefully we get after them this week and beat them this time.”
To beat Calgary on Thursday, the Redblacks will need to be better than they were two weeks ago, a game in which the Stampeders’ offence wasn’t at its best, either.
“The defence could have done even more,” Klassen said. “But our offence has to keep us off the field, just like we want to keep them on the field. If we can go two-and-outs, that means we’re getting our offence on the field and vice versa. So if we control the ball, you control the game, you control the field position and ultimately you’ll probably win the game.”
Klassen is happy he’s getting an opportunity in Ottawa, a city he calls one of his favourite destinations.
“Last year was frustrating for me, more mentally, being up and down off the roster,” he said. “This year, coming in and having a chance to compete — earning that starting spot has been awesome.
“Hopefully I can prove I belong out there play after play, game after game. You could say it’s been bad luck for me. But it’s more one door closes and another door opens.”