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There will be plenty of changes on defence. Defensive backs coach Ike Charlton and linebackers coach Derek Oswalt are gone. Among the players no longer here: Defensive lineman Zack Evans, linebacker Taylor Reed and defensive back Jerrell Gavins.

“We lost some good players, but we signed more than we lost,” said Nelson. “We got better. Some of these young guys look pretty good, it should be a good year. Last year, we fought tooth and nail to get into the playoffs. This year, we’ll have to do the same. Toronto is going to be good. Hamilton’s only getting better, Montreal’s getting better … we have to get better. Last year is last year. The Argos were the Cup champions so congratulations to them, but right now, they haven’t won any more games than us.”

STANDING OUT: When asked if any of the offensive newcomers stood out during mini-camp, quarterback Trevor Harris said: “There was a running back Cedric (O’Neal) – he did a really nice job. We had a few receivers who really jumped out— R.J. Shelton, Romond Deloatch, he got a bit of a tweak in his hamstring, but he came in and looked really good. We have some other guys — Noel Thomas and R.J. Harris. I think they’ll come in and compete and see how they fit into the lineup. We already have three pretty solid guys (Greg Ellingson, Brad Sinopoli and Diontae Spencer) who have proven themselves so we just need to find players to complement them. It’s going to be fun and we’ll see how it plays out.”

OK, SO WHAT NOW? After winding up the team’s three-day mini-camp, the Redblacks will focus on getting their roster size down to 75 by May 1. “We’re going to have to make some tough decisions,” said Campbell. “Basically, we’re going to have to make about 10 moves. There’s some non-counter stuff in there, but generally speaking we’re going to have to figure out how to deal with about 10 roster spots. It’ll be tough. But tough is good because it means there are some hard decisions to make. If the decisions are easy, that’s not a good thing.”