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It’s late in the season, but there could still be an early rising for the Ottawa Redblacks.

Ray Early, that is, the 24-year-old punter from South Carolina who was assigned to the Canadian Football League team’s practice squad after signing Monday. He could see game action as soon as Friday night at TD Place stadium against the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

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“It felt like I hadn’t even left football, going out there (Monday) and getting some practice reps with the punt team,” Early said after practice. “It felt good out there again. I don’t feel like I skipped a beat.”

Early averaged 45 yards per punt last season for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, where he was briefly a teammate of Redblacks field-goal kicker Chris Milo and the responsibility of Bob Dyce, then special-teams co-ordinator for the green Riders and now in the same position with Ottawa.

Punter Zack Medeiros remains on the Redblacks roster, but has been under pressure because of a couple of minor ailments and, more importantly, inconsistent production. Another “international,” Sergio Castillo, averaged a net of 36.3 yards in two September games, but wasn’t seen as enough of a difference-maker to warrant occupying a roster spot ahead of the “national” Medeiros, who had a long chat with Dyce on the field before practice Monday.