To a 23-year-old CFL rookie out of Shawnee, Kan., population nearly 64,000, the Ottawa RedBlacks intra-squad game Thursday night in Gatineau means everything.

It could be the difference between whether he's still an Ottawa RedBlack after Friday's cutdown to get to a 46-man roster. Or it could mean an airplane ticket home. And that's not what he wants. He's taken a bit of a shine to Canada, and Ottawa.

Said Matt Acree, a 6-foot-3, 295-lb. defensive lineman: "You're telling me someone invited me up to a new country, to Ottawa, and I get to do this? That's lights out. It's gorgeous here. Everything's nice. Canadians are awesome.

"I think about (the roster cutdown) every day. It's a fear. Every 12-year-old kid says, 'I want to be a football player.' It doesn't consume me, but I'm motivated by that fear.

"It would suck (if I didn't make the team). No one likes to lose. Getting cut is losing. President Roosevelt gave a speech called The Man in the Arena. The gist of it is it's easy to talk when you're on the outside. It's easy for people who haven't done this to criticize, but the guy in the arena who's taking the risks, win or lose, he's still there to do it and he keeps going."

Acree has been picking up the CFL game and getting accolades from his coaches along the way.

"Everybody says (the CFL game is) different, but you don't really realize how different it is until you do it," he said. "I'm trying to close the gap. I haven't been getting yelled at so I suppose that's positive."

"He's a defensive lineman who plays on the other side of the line of scrimmage, which means he gets penetration and gets into the backfield," said RedBlacks coach Rick Campbell. "It's one of the best qualities you can have as a D-lineman. He's a good pass rusher who takes the edge on O-linemen and is disruptive. He's trying to figure out this whole CFL thing. He's a pretty raw guy, but he keeps getting better all the time so we'll see where it goes."

The RedBlacks will have some tough decisions to make between now and Friday's 10 p.m. roster deadline.

"We have some ideas, but there are some things left to be determined," said Campbell. "There are guys working hard these last few days. Some things are undecided. We'll take everything into account (after Thursday night).

"There are going to be some tough decisions. There are going to be some pretty good guys let go. It's tough to do that to people. But it's a better sign for us as a football team that we're growing and getting more depth. (Thursday) is really our last day of training camp. It'll be fun to be over in Gatineau and have a night-time scrimmage. Tough decisions will be made and then it's on to Week 1."

Campbell said the scrimmage, at Complexe sportif Mont-Bleu, is a chance for players to make an impression. There will be a regular practice from 6-7 p.m., then the team will scrimmage from 7-8:15. Admission is free.

"They can make a case for themselves," said Campbell. "The scrimmage is not about flat-out hitting. There will be pads on, but it's not about how hard you hit someone, it's about knowing your assignment and being able to do it with speed. It gives us a chance to be in one more game-like scenario for the coaches and players and we'll go from there."

THE SCRAP HEAP

There was a bit of a tussle during Wednesday's scrimmage. But other than a couple of helmets getting yanked off, cooler heads prevailed. "It's good that there's good energy and competitiveness out there, but we're not looking for people to fight," said Campbell. "It was all fine -- no harm, no foul so we're OK."

JUST FOR KICKS

There are two kickers left in the RedBlacks camp -- Delbert Alvarado and Anthony Alix, but it wouldn't be surprising if there's competition soon on the way. There's a battle in Saskatchewan right now with nationals Hugh O'Neill and Chris Milo battling impressive American Ray Early for roster spots and it's possible Tyler Crapigna, who is in a battle with Rene Paredes, could be available from the Calgary Stampeders.

Twitter: @TimCBaines