RedBlacks Sign Seven

December 12, 2024 – Canadian Football League (CFL)
Ottawa RedBlacks News Release

OTTAWA – The Ottawa REDBLACKS announced the following transactions, today:

SIGNED:

American defensive back Tobias Harris

HEIGHT: 5-9 | WEIGHT: 187 lbs | BIRTHDAY: 2000-05-24

HOMETOWN: Pflugerville, Texas | SCHOOL: Old Dominion

Harris has spent the last two seasons north of the border, and both with the REDBLACKS. The 24-year-old broke into the league as a kick returner in 2023, scoring his first career kickoff return touchdown on a 93-yard score at Toronto on October 14 of that year. In 2024, Harris appeared in eight games, starting in six on defence, recording a career-high 22 total tackles, and a forced fumble. The Old Dominion product also returned 16 punts for 191 yards, and nine kickoffs for 175 yards.

American defensive back Clay Fields III

HEIGHT: 5-10 | WEIGHT: 211 lbs | BIRTHDAY: 2000-02-15

HOMETOWN: Franklin, NJ | SCHOOL: Tennessee-Chattanooga

Fields spent time on the REDBLACKS practice roster during the 2024 season, after a preseason stint with the Indianapolis Colts. He transferred from Marist to Tennessee-Chattanooga for the final season of his college career in 2023, where he suited up in 12 games, recording 36 solo tackles, 13 assisted tackles, two tackles for loss, an interception, and nine pass breakups. In the prior four seasons at Marist, Fields earned Third Team FCS All-American honours in 2021. Through 32 games with the Red Foxes, he racked up 75 solo tackles, 94 assisted tackles, five tackles for loss, half a sack, seven interceptions, 20 pass breakups, and a fumble recovery. Fields also contributed there as a kick returner, fielding 11 kickoffs for 176 yards, along with 20 punts for 191 yards and a touchdown.

American defensive back Gavin Heslop

HEIGHT: 6-0 | WEIGHT: 195 lbs | BIRTHDAY: 1997-11-13

HOMETOWN: Yonkers, NY | SCHOOL: Stony Brook

A product of Yonkers, New York, Heslop most recently suited up for the San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL. He appeared in three games for the Seattle Seahawks in 2021, posting a tackle, before moving on to the New York Giants in 2022, and Cleveland Browns in 2023. Heslop finished his collegiate career at Stony Brook having started in 37 consecutive games, being named a team captain in his senior year, and earning Third Team All-CAA honours in 2019 with 52 tackles, eight and a half tackles for loss, two blocked kicks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. Heslop also received a Second Team All-CAA nod in 2018.

American defensive lineman Ronheen Bingham

HEIGHT: 6-2 | WEIGHT: 242 lbs | BIRTHDAY: 1995-10-21

HOMETOWN: Bennettsville, SC | SCHOOL: Arkansas State

Before joining the Ottawa practice roster in September, Bingham spent the last two seasons in Houston; with the UFL’s Roughnecks (2024), and USFL’s Gamblers (2023), respectively. The Bennettsville, South Carolina product made his CFL debut with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2022, appearing in two games after spending time on the practice squad since 2021. Bingham suited up in 25 games for Arkansas State over two seasons, racking up 37 solo tackles, 50 assisted tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, five pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. Prior to his time with the Red Wolves, Bingham played two seasons at Hutchinson Community College, where he recorded 110 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, and seven sacks.

American defensive lineman Darius Hodges

HEIGHT: 6-2 | WEIGHT: 280 lbs | BIRTHDAY: 2001-01-05

HOMETOWN: Montgomery, AL | SCHOOL: Tulane

Before being added to the REDBLACKS practice roster in September, Hodges earned a tryout with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this year, following a productive collegiate career at Tulane. He appeared in 46 games from 2020 to 2023, recording 84 solo tackles, 30 assisted tackles, 34 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks, four pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. Hodges was a Second Team All-ACC selection in 2022, on the back of a season in which appeared in 14 games, starting 12, and racked up 39 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, five sacks, and a forced fumble.

American defensive lineman Jake Heimlicher

HEIGHT: 6-4 | WEIGHT: 255 lbs | BIRTHDAY: 1999-10-05

HOMETOWN: Aurora, CO | SCHOOL: UCLA

Heimlicher spent time on the REDBLACKS practice roster this season, after a 2023 season at UCLA where he appeared in 12 games, recording seven total tackles, a sack, and a pass breakup, earning an invite to New York Giants minicamp earlier this year. The Aurora, Colorado native previously suited up in 31 games for Penn, and started in 20, highlighted by a 2022 campaign where he racked up 47 total tackles, nine sacks, and 13 tackles for loss. Heimlicher’s production that season saw him take home a First Team All-Ivy nod, and finish as a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award.

American defensive lineman Chase McGowan

HEIGHT: 6-1 | WEIGHT: 255 lbs | BIRTHDAY: 2000-12-12

HOMETOWN: Stafford, VA | SCHOOL: Delaware

McGowan spent his collegiate career at Delaware, making a name for himself on the Fightin’ Blue Hens defensive line. The Stafford, Virginia product served as a team captain in his final season of 2023, en route to earning Second Team All-CAA honours. He started all 13 games that year, tallying 47 tackles, along with a team-high 16 tackles for loss, and seven sacks. McGowan ended his college playing days in the Delaware record books; finishing fourth in program history with 22 career sacks, and fifth in tackles for loss with 40. All told, he racked up Third Team All-CAA honours in 2022, and 2021, to go with 122 career tackles, 22 sacks, four pass deflections, and five forced fumbles.

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