Like most decent people, Jonathan Rose is greatly disturbed by the senseless cop killings of African-American men in Louisiana and Minnesota this week.

He believes they, and others who have suffered similar fates after disputes with fellow civilians, would still be alive if the U.S. had different gun laws.

“You can have a license to carry a hand gun, where I’m from in Alabama, but I don’t like it,” said Rose, a 22-year old rookie cornerback with the Redblacks. “I feel like in home, it’s all right, but outside, walking around in general public, tempers can always fluctuate. Somebody can lose their temper and just having that on you, it’s a natural reaction. When I grew up, if you got in a scuffle, it’s done there. You go heal up and you move on with your life. Now sometimes you don’t even get an opportunity to move on with your life, because it’s ended after a small altercation. I’m hoping they find a way to eliminate this gun law, to be able to carry a hand gun in general public. I just felt like that wasn’t a good idea at all, and it’s proven itself right.”

Rose admits it’s almost enough to make him want to spend his entire career, if not the rest of his life, up here in Canada.

“If I could, I would,” he said. “I would make this home.”

Likely, that will be almost impossible for him to do. Rose is a 6-foot-2, 195 pounder who, in just two CFL games, has shown he is a special player. With his size and ability to play a difficult position, the NFL is sure to come calling.

For as fleeting as a football player’s career is, you have to grab the money and the opportunity when it’s there.

“If he keeps doing what he’s doing, the sky’s definitely the limit for him,” said Redblacks DB coach Ike Charlton. “To be honest with you, you don’t want to say that, but if he does good … he’s outta here. It’s a prime position for that size. They’re going to drool over him.

“If he stays healthy and performs, then comes back next year and plays again, we probably won’t see him (after that).”

Of course, the future is not the focus for Rose. He’s concerned with the now, Friday’s home opener against the Calgary Stampeders, and defending against a very good quarterback.

Intimidated, he is not. Rose has already seen Edmonton’s Mike Reilly and Montreal’s Kevin Glenn. Bo Levi Mitchell will merely present another stiff challenge.

Preparing for difficult tests is made easier with the help of Charlton, who was also a good-sized cornerback in the CFL and NFL. It’s also made easier by practising against his own teammates.

“He sees the best wideouts in the game every day,” said Charlton. “He’s lining 1-on-1 against Chris Williams every single snap. So when he gets to a game, he’s not worried about much. If you can guard him and have some success against him, then you go against every other receiver in this league, it’s like practice to you.”

Rose realizes the benefits of his situation.

“Oh man, Chris … if my deep route coverage is getting any better, I owe it all to Chris,” he said. “Chris has challenged me on deep routes from Monday to game day, and I love it.”

As he does trying to stop Trevor Harris and Henry Burris, before he suffered a finger injury, on a daily basis.

“I’m glad our quarterback situation is the way it is,” said Rose. “Seven (Harris’s number) came in and stepped up major after Hank went down. It was no drop off.”

Through the Redblacks’ 2-0 start, all the attention has been heaped on Harris, Williams and what the offence has been able to do. Before long, the defence should have its turn in the spotlight.

Ottawa lost two key members of the secondary in the off-season — Jovon Johnson and Brandyn Thompson — but the addition of Rose, who stole a starting job from Brandon Sermons, has more than eased the pain.

He calls “D-Block,” a nickname the Ottawa secondary bestowed upon itself, a “select” group of individuals.

“I look at D-Block like the LOB (Legion of Boom) for the (Seattle) Seahawks,” said Rose. “(Naming yourself) just gives you that identity, now you all go out there and live up to that identity.

“Once you put that out there, it makes you raise your play to a another level. Now you have to go out there and perform, because everybody is looking at you as the D-Block, That kind of holds us to a higher standard.”

Rose expects that high standard to be on full display at a home opener he anxiously awaits.

“They say that (the atmosphere for the pre-season game against Winnipeg) was nothing like the home opener will be,” he said. “So I’m very excited to see how this stadium packs out, the lights that night, and then see the scoreboard lit up with the Redblacks having a victory.”

As Rose ran off the field following another post-practice interview Thursday, a machine at TD Place backfired, making a sound like a gun being fired. Rose literally jumped, then laughed when he realized what it was before going on his way.