Kamloops Mini-Camp | 3 Things To Watch

The march to the 105^th Grey Cup in Ottawa officially begins Thursday when first year BC Lions and a few select returnees kick off three-day mini-camp at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops. Needless to say, excitement is in the air after 2016 saw a five-win improvement in the regular season standings and thrilling comeback win over Winnipeg in the Western Division-Semi Final. At the same time, players and coaches know it’s all about turning the page and nothing will be taken for granted in 2017. The three-day mini-camp provides the coaching staff with an early look at some of the players they have recruited over the past six months. Like any other professional sports league, you can’t be contenders in the CFL unless you have a decent crop of young players to compliment the reliable veterans on your roster.

Last season, the likes of Antonio Johnson, Loucheiz Purifoy and Chandler Fenner parlayed their success in April OTA and Kamloops mini-camp into key starting roles for the club that finished 12-6. Here are five things to watch for in 2017 mini-camp from Hillside Stadium.

1. The Big Men

One of the big- no pun intended- takeaways from this year’s April OTA was the impressive contingent of linemen on both sides of the ball. Director of US Scouting Ryan Rigmaiden pointed out the fact four or five of the defensive guys could be starters right now. Obviously that won’t happen but it will be interesting to get more looks out of Carolina Panthers cast off Frank Alexander and Virgina Tech product Luther Maddy were among those who performed well. On offence, David Foucault looked right at home in his first reps. since coming over in the Jovan Olafioye trade.

When you factor in the 2017 draft picks it should make for an intense three-day battle up front. Wally Buono will preach from day one how important it is to own the line of scrimmage. The message was well received in 2016 after they led the CFL in rushing yards and finished tied with Calgary for most sacks on defence.

 Frank Alexander could be a big X-factor as club looks to replace Alex Bazzie.

2. Next Crop of Playmakers

They may have a case for the best receiving corps. on paper but that doesn’t mean the younger group of playmakers will show up as pushovers. Deon Long headlines a group of athletic receivers while natural receivers Tyler Davis and Dakota Brush will take reps. in the backfield. Long was added to the club during last year’s practice roster expansion period. Davis was moved to running back in OTA and also made some good plays at receiver. If you’re going to be stacked at receiver you might as well have some capable backups in the wings. Free agent addition Chris Williams may be on hand early to test out his repaired knee ligaments.

Tyler Davis tries his hand at Canadian game after productive stint in the German League with the Munich Cowboys and Kiel Hurricanes.

3. Canadian Content

What separates the winners from the rest of the pack is the quality of Canadian players on your roster. With 2017 first round picks Danny Vandervoort and Junior Luke signed as of Wednesday, that means every member of this year’s draft class will report later in the evening. Returning non-imports Shaq Johnson, Nate O’Halloran and Brett Blaszko will also report for early duty. It is always intriguing to see the players come back with knowledge they took in from year one. Shawn Gore’s retirement makes the Canadian receiver battle a bit more interesting too. Marco Iannuzzi now leads the pack in that regard.

Bonus: Rehab Put To Test

Halfback TJ Lee will get his first taste of live action since rupturing his achilles tendon in a week four victory at Saskatchewan last season. The Easter Washington product looks to be back to full speed and will no doubt take advantage of the extra work. Steven Clarke got his first practice work in at April mini-camp and will continue the experiment of working at safety following the trade of Mike Edem earlier this month. The shuffle will allow the Leos some ratio flexibility once main camp begins on Sunday. 

Mini-Camp By The Numbers

22– members who attended the OTA in Surrey. We will once again find out just how beneficial that three-day camp was.

11– offensive or defensive linemen included in that group of 22. The battles should only get greater especially after Foucault and Marquis Jackson got into a minor tussle last month. The players know what they have to do to stand out.

9– number of CFL 2017 draft picks on hand, the entire class to be precise.. Last season saw four Lions’ picks suit up for at least one game. Those were Charles Vaillancourt, Nate O’Halloran, Anthony Thompson and Shaq Johnson. Thompson was only in that group to see action in every single game and did so mostly on special teams. Vaillancourt likely would have given it a run had he not been sidelined by concussion symptoms in week three.

17– amount of mini-camp attendees that played at NCAA Division 1 colleges. A true testament to the scouting prowess south of the border by Rigmaiden.

Full Mini-Camp Roster And Depth Chart By Position

Players in bold attended April OTA.

Quarterbacks

Ales Ross, Keith Price, Frederic Pauquette- Perrault

Running Backs

Tyler Davis, Dakota Brush, Josh Harris, Nate O’Halloran

Receivers

Brett Blaszko, Mitchell Hillis, RJ Harris, Montario Hunter, Shaq Johnson, Corey Jones, Deon Long, Douglas McNeill, Maurice Morgan, Danny Vandervoort

Offensive Lineman

Vincent Brown, Adrian Bellard, Aaron Epps, David Foucault, Quinn Horton, Nate Isles, Kelvin Palmer, Evan Telford, Jeremy Zver

Defensive Lineman

Frank Alexander, Ken Boatright, Edward Godin, Andrew Hudson, Marquis Jackson, Junior Luke, Luther Maddy

Linebackers

Micah Awe, Frederic Chagnon, Dyshawn Davis, Jordan Herdman, Adrian James

Defensive Backs

Kally Ceesay, Steven Clarke, Nate Hamlin, TJ Lee, Tevin McDonald, Justin Thomas, Cleveland Wallace, Mondo Williams

Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com