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Three years ago, Onterio McCalebb opened plenty of eyes when he blazed through a 4.28 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.

The running back, who played alongside QB Cam Newton at Auburn, got his shot with the Cincinnati Bengals, who tried him at cornerback and receiver. It didn’t work out and he was released last year.

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Now, he’s going to get a shot to play in the CFL. The Ottawa RedBlacks announced on Friday that they’ve signed the 5-foot-10, 176-pound speedster, while also saying they were bringing back defensive end Marlon Smith.

“(Onterio) is a guy who we’ve had an eye on, he’s a guy with speed,” said RedBlacks GM Marcel Desjardins. “He was at one of our workouts recently. He’s a kickoff returner, very explosive, we’ll put him in the mix and see how it goes.

“We’ll bring him into mini camp, if we’re looking for a guy who can return kicks and play in certain packages on offence, he could be that guy. We have other options as well.”

As for Smith, Desjardins said: “Marlon will continue to improve. There’s a chance he may start for us this year and that’s what we were trying to convey to him. He’s a guy you like to have around, he’s a good guy. He’s goes about his business the right way and that’s important.”