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Players like Brown and Harris are proud to represent the city and the team their jersey represents.

“We’re here to play football, but we also have to be good citizens,” said Harris. “That’s what I try to do, keep my nose clean. “We’re representing RNation all the time.”

Harris didn’t make any changes in his off-season routine. He was at home in Maryland, combining his workout schedule with being a father to his daughter Malani Jae, who turns two in September. He was also again a boot camp instructor at Cloud 10, a fitness studio in Anne Arundel County, near Baltimore.

Asked about his daughter, he said: “It’s humbling, it’s teaching me a lot of patience. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“She’s got a great vocabulary,” he added with a laugh. “Her favourite word to me right now is ‘no.’ Yes is no. No is no. Just no.”

WHO WILL PLAY?

While the Redblacks will likely rest many of their projected starters next Thursday in Montreal, look for many of the big names to get playing time Saturday.

Asked about how time would be split between the quarterbacks – in particular, Dominique Davis and Jonathan Jennings, who are battling for the starting job – Campbell said it would be decided before Friday’s walk-through: “We definitely want Dom and Jon to get a significant amount of time. But there are some other factors that go into it.”

DEFENCE AHEAD

It makes sense that the Redblacks’ defence is ahead of the game – 11 of last year’s starters are back and defensive back Rico Murray has been replaced by an all-star, Chris Randle. Said Brown: “We’re picking up our rhythm. It’s a lot easier for the defence to get into a rhythm. A lot of it for the offence is timing and that takes reps – that’ll develop as the season goes along. We’ve got continuity with the (same) defensive co-ordinator (Noel Thorpe) being here, we’ve already got the system. We really feel almost like we’re picking up where we left off. If we hit the ground running, I feel like it’s going to be a good year.”