WINNIPEG - Jordan Younger kept Winnipeg's secondary on the field after the Blue Bombers finished their walk-through practice on Wednesday.
The team乌鸦传媒 defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach gave extra attention to the unit after more injuries caused changes ahead of Thursday乌鸦传媒 home game against the Ottawa Redblacks. One of the adjustments was adding rookie Cam Allen, who鈥檒l make his CFL debut at safety.
聽The 25-year-old Purdue graduate is ready for it.聽
鈥淲henever a new guy comes in, I know on the other side of the ball they鈥檙e probably looking at who乌鸦传媒 back there,鈥 Allen said.聽
鈥淢e going into the game, I know I鈥檓 expecting a couple shots, for them to come at me. A guy like me, I鈥檓 very confident in my play, so I want those plays because if they go away from you, you ain鈥檛 got no opportunity to make a play. I鈥檓 just ready for the opportunity.鈥 聽
Dru Brown is the quarterback who鈥檒l be testing Allen乌鸦传媒 coverage, and he乌鸦传媒 coming off a career-high five-touchdown performance in Ottawa乌鸦传媒 46-42 comeback victory over the Toronto Argonauts last Saturday.聽
Allen knows a thing or two about reading quarterbacks. The six-foot-one native of Bluefield, Va., played the position in high school before sticking to defence at Purdue.
鈥淚 feel like I have a very good sense of where the quarterback wants to go,鈥 Allen said. 鈥淛ust reading concepts, being able to break on the ball and just knowing the quarterback wants to throw the ball and where he乌鸦传媒 going to throw the ball. Reading and reacting is what I鈥檓 best at.鈥
Allen got on the roster after cornerback Terrell Bonds was carted off the field in last week乌鸦传媒 28-27 loss to the Calgary Stampeders that was decided by a final-play, 40-yard field goal from Rene Paredes. Bonds had knee surgery and is done for the season.聽
Bombers rookie defensive back and kick returner Trey Vaval replaced Bonds in the game and remains in the spot this week. Winnipeg乌鸦传媒 other cornerback is Dexter Lawson Jr., a recently signed three-year veteran who started last week in place of the still-injured Jamal Parker.
Winnipeg head coach Mike O鈥橲hea isn鈥檛 losing sleep over changes for a club that sits at 4-4 and has lost four of its past five games. 聽
鈥淭hey鈥檙e pro football players, right? They鈥檙e going to step up and make the most of their opportunity,鈥 O鈥橲hea said.聽
Bomber halfbacks Deatrick Nichols and Evan Holm have been the constants in Winnipeg乌鸦传媒 secondary, both playing all eight games.聽
Holm said the biggest challenge with change is communication.
鈥淐ommunication, getting everybody up to speed,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t乌鸦传媒 just mostly trying to see the game the same, making sure there乌鸦传媒 not miscommunications because not everybody sees the game the same.鈥澛
The Redblacks (3-6) are replacing two defensive backs, bringing in rookie cornerback Gavin Heslop to make his first career start. Safety Bennett Williams鈥 addition is a game-time decision. Two linebackers are also coming onto the roster.
Head coach Bob Dyce told Ottawa media that even though it乌鸦传媒 a short week of practise, the players are ready to keep rolling after the victory over Toronto and two wins in a row.
鈥淵ou get an opportunity to get back on the field, carry through with the momentum that we built the last couple of weeks ,鈥 Dyce said.聽
Running back William Stanback had 17 carries for 84 yards versus the Argonauts.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in great spirits, but we know that we鈥檙e not even close to where we feel we can be,鈥 Stanback said.
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros and veteran receiver Nic Demski said the focus for the offence is cleaning up its mistakes from the loss to Calgary.
The Bombers had mounted a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter and were ahead 23-16 at halftime, but didn鈥檛 score a point in the third quarter.聽
鈥淲hen you look at the little things, the little details, alignments, assignments, being on the same page with everybody, being in the right place at the right time, I think that乌鸦传媒 a big thing right there,鈥 Demski said.聽
鈥淲e鈥檝e definitely got to do a better job at that. It乌鸦传媒 the little details. You just can鈥檛 be making mistakes as a group. Once we get rid of that, I think we鈥檙e going to be in a good spot.鈥
KEEPING A STREAK GOING
The Bombers have won nine of the past 12 games against Ottawa and three consecutive at home. The Redblacks last win in Winnipeg was Aug. 17, 2018.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2025.