Maurice Price embraces 'newness' with Ottawa Redblacks

Being traded from the Grey Cup champs to a second-year Ottawa Redblacks team coming off a 2-16 debut initially took Maurice Price aback, yet it has not set him back.

The Redblacks' mid-January trade with the Calgary Stampeders of leading tackler Jasper Simmons and receiver Dan Buckner for Price portended a complete overhaul of the receiving spots. Earlier this month, Ottawa added three pairs of sure hands in free agency, inking slotback Ernest Jackson (813 yards for B.C.), wide receiver Greg Ellingson (429 for Eastern champion Hamilton) and Canadian wide receiver Brad Sinopoli, a former University of Ottawa star. Price, who's pencilled in to give Ottawa's offence the vertical element it lacked last season, was the first piece of the puzzle.

"It was mixed feelings at first," Price said during his introduction to the national capital region media -- and the city itself, since he missed both 2014 Stampeders-Redblacks games due to injuries -- on Tuesday. "Being in Calgary for three years, that became my first home in the CFL and my heart was kind of there. Within a day or two, letting it sink in, thinking it over, I started to switch my thinking and began to look forward to being a Redblack. I'm excited to be part of something new.

"Once I got word those guys (Jackson, Ellingson and Sinopoli) were going to be here there was a little more motivation," added Price, who amassed 544 yards in just 11 games last season, averaging a robust 16 per catch. "I'm the type of the guy, I have an alpha kind of mentality, I like to have the pressure fall on my shoulders. What could be more motivating to than to be part of something new? There's a newness with everything here."

Scoring only 278 points last season, 82 fewer than the CFL's second lowest scoring team, led to Ottawa GM Marcel Desjardins and head coach Rick Campbell to shake up the offensive staff, hiring Jason Maas as the coordinator and Bryan Chiu to coach the line. Price was a practice squad player in Calgary in 2009 when Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris was at the controls for the Stamps, so Campbell is hopeful the familiarity factor will help.

"Maurice has potential to be a big-play receiver because of his speed," Campbell said. "I like the confidence that he brings.

"We know more things this year," Campbell added. "When I got hired [on Dec. 6, 2013] we had six players and no coaches. We were starting from the ground up. Now we can plan a lot better."

The 6-foot-1, 206-pound Price missed chunks of 2013 and '14 and is aware that an injury history can lead to a player being labelled. The soft-spoken Orlando, Fla., native said it's "agitating" to have that as a frequent point of reference.

"If I was the only one ever getting injured it would probably be something to talk about, but there is only a handful of guys who play a whole 18-game season," said Price, who contributed five catches for 64 yards during the Stamps' Grey Cup win. "But I don't harp on it or beat myself up over it. I control what I can control. This year I do aim to play all 18 games and the playoffs. Even with the injuries, I've done some good  things in this league. I am excited."

With even replacement-level CFL offence, the Redblacks likely could have finished with 5-6 wins. Price believes that with the free-agency additions and the holdovers from the long first year, making the playoffs in the East Division is achievable.

"Yes," he said when asked point-blank about Ottawa making the playoffs in Year 2. "I'm not an on-the-fence guy.

"Last year, they were competing, they played hard," he said. "It's a lot to ask a new team to put together a lot of success right away."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.

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