When Henry Burris saw the Ottawa RedBlacks third jersey back in April, he was blown away.

That seems to be the reaction of anybody who’s seen the jersey, which will be unveiled and on sale today and worn for the first time, without the newly designed helmet, by the RedBlacks on Aug. 24 at TD Place against Calgary.

“When I walked into the closed-off area they had for each player to see his team’s uniform, I was truly shocked,” said Burris, the RedBlacks’ starting quarterback. “I thought it might be more of a blast from the past. It embraces what it’s all about here, both in Ottawa and on the Quebec side. It’s the bare necessities where this city grew from, that old woodsman mentality.

“It was the perfect creation ... the big logo on the front, put the numbers on the side, kind of an old-school throwback, then having the plaid on the sides from top down. It embraces and throws something different at people. Having all that plaid mixed in with the red and then the black pants, it’ll be something different than what everybody else has.

“People are going to love this jersey. People like change, they like something different. I think ours will really strike a nerve with football fans.”

The CFL Signature jersey is red, with a RedBlacks saw blade logo on the front and lumberjack plaid on the shoulders. The uniform pants are black with lumberjack plaid trim and “Ottawa” in script on one leg. The uniform will be topped-off by a plaid helmet with no other markings. You can buy the third jersey at the RedBlacks team store, 841 Bank St. (5th Ave. Court) or online at ottawaredblacks.com.

“I love it,” said Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group president Jeff Hunt. “It’s extremely unique, modern and fresh.

“When we went with our two primary jerseys, you could safely call them traditional. This is very non-traditional. This jersey really embodies the RedBlacks. This was a CFL initiative. The past couple of years, it’s been all about heritage and retro. They wanted to do something modern with this. They challenged themselves to come up with something unique and progressive. The logo on the front is a big element of that.”

The plaid in both the helmets and jersey certainly stand out.

“In our early focus groups, plaid was very popular. It’s very big with the younger generation,” said Hunt.

The RedBlacks are allowed to wear the new look for two games and may apply to wear it on the road for a game on top of that — possibly in B.C. Oct. 11.

The CFL-wide Signature Uniform program began some 18 months ago when Reebok was challenged by the league to develop bold new uniforms. The BC Lions were first to debut their Signature Uniform last season and all other teams are following suit this season.​

Twitter: @timcbaines