OTTAWA — Mark Korte is set to get his first taste of the Canadian Football League this week against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The rookie offensive lineman is listed as the starter at left guard on the Ottawa REDBLACKS depth chart for Thursday night’s contest. Injuries on the REDBLACKS O-line (Nolan MacMillan is on the one-game injured list while Jason Lauzon-Seguin is on the six) means Ottawa will get a good look at the 22-year-old in regular season action.
Ottawa selected Korte fourth overall in the 2018 CFL Draft.
Korte participates in the one-on-one drills at the 2018 CFL Combine presented by adidas (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)
Before heading to the nation’s capital, Korte played for the West Team in the U SPORTS East-West Bowl and started eight regular season games at left tackle in 2017. The 6-foot-2, 293-pound offensive lineman was named a Canada West All-Star, Canada West’s Most Outstanding Lineman and a U SPORTS First-Team All-Canadian.
Over his four-year career at the University of Alberta, Korte played in and started every regular season game at left tackle.
On Thursday night at TD Place, Korte will have the difficult task of protecting his quarterback, Trevor Harris, from the menacing Roughriders defensive line as he plays guard instead of his familiar spot at tackle.
Saskatchewan’s front four, including Willie Jefferson and newcomer Charleston Hughes, were a force in their Week 1 contest against the Toronto Argonauts. Hughes, in his first game as a Rider, tallied three sacks in the first half of the contest alone.
Keeping both ends away from Harris will be key for Korte and the rest of Ottawa’s offensive line if they want to find success offensively this week.
The REDBLACKS were on a Week 1 bye and will host the Roughriders as Ottawa searches for their first win of the season and Saskatchewan looks to go 2-0 to start the year.
