By Max Campbell
Stampeders.com

Exit Tim Brown, enter Nate Slaughter.

Calgary’s return game will feature a new face this week in Edmonton as the fresh-faced rookie will fill in for the wily veteran after Brown suffered a right leg injury on Labour Day.

The ailment will prevent the former BC Lion from taking the field for the foreseeable future, allowing Slaughter showcase his skills after waiting weeks for his time to shine.

“Of course as a football player you want to play, and I’ve been playing this game all my life,” said No. 83, who was recently activated from the team’s practice roster. “When you’re on a good team, you understand (the situation) and you play your role. When it’s time for your number to be called, you go out there and do what you’re supposed to do.”

Slaughter believes the constant communication with his fellow returner will pay dividends in Saturday’s rematch against the Esks as the two frequently review their reads and keep one another up-to-speed on the sideline.

“Me and Tim, we always talk,” the five-foot-nine, 184-lb. speedster offered. “We’re both returners, so even during the game, I talk to him and he talks to me and asks me what I’m seeing. He’s a great guy to learn from and he’s a pro. In everything he’s done, I’ve sat back and taken notes and watched. Hopefully when I get in there, it can be a seamless change.”

Hailing from Lubbock, Tex., and just 23 years of age, Slaughter signed with the Red and White on June 9 but was released once the pre-season schedule concluded. He racked up two catches for 13 yards and also returned two kickoffs for 34 yards and two punts for 20 yards before being let go, but was brought back by head coach and general manager John Hufnagel on July 21.

“I just like the ball in my hands,” explained Slaughter when asked if he was better suited to field either kickoffs or punts. “Once I get the ball in my hands, I’m a ball carrier. So as long as I get the ball in my hands, I’m going to do what I do.”

A former student-athlete at West Texas A&M, Slaughter shares an alma mater with former Stamps linebacker Alondra Johnson, who played in Calgary from 1991-2003 and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

Knowing he would be inserted into the lineup as soon as Brown was ruled out for the Week 12 edition of the Battle of Alberta, Slaughter assured he will be primed for game day despite the unfortunate circumstances.

“I’m always the kind of guy that sits back and knows that I’m ready if anything happens,” the one-time Houston Texan, Jacksonville Jaguar and Arizona Cardinal remarked. “It sucks that it had to happen like that, but I always knew that I was the next guy up.”