The Ottawa Redblacks have added University of North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker to their exclusive negotiation list.
The six-foot-four, 210-pound passer is off to a red-hot start to his redshirt freshman season with the Mean Green as he’s completed 70.2 percent of his passes for 764 yards, nine touchdowns, and zero interceptions over three games to start the year. He has also rushed for 49 yards and one score.
The native of Austin, Texas originally came on campus as a walk-on but has since earned a scholarship. North Texas is 3-0 to start the 2025 season, having just beaten Washington State by a score of 59-10 on Saturday.
Mestemaker beat out senior quarterback Reese Poffenbarger for the starting job this year. The redshirt senior was named the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Offensive Rookie of the Year while playing at the University of Albany in 2022 and spent last season at the University of Miami where he saw action in four games.
All nine CFL teams can place up to 45 players on their negotiation list, giving them their exclusive rights once they enter the professional ranks.
The Ottawa Redblacks (4-9) will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-7) at TD Place Stadium on Saturday, September 20 with kickoff slated for 3:00 p.m. EDT. The Blue Bombers are coming off a 32-21 loss to Hamilton, while the Redblacks lost 38-27 against B.C. in Vancouver.
The weather forecast in Ottawa calls for a high of 19 degrees with sunny conditions. The game will be broadcast on TSN, RDS, and CTV in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 680 CJOB in Winnipeg and TSN 1200 in Ottawa.
