It was during training camp a few weeks back when Lions defensive tackle Ufomba Kamalu wondered if the 33,000 strong at Mosaic Stadium would bear a resemblance to an NCAA or NFL game.
After last Friday night, the former Miami Hurricanes standout left the field gutted following a narrow 33-29 defeat to the Sasktachewan Roughriders. But at the same time, it was still surreal for Kamalu to play in front of a massive, hostile crowd that didn’t stop for 60 minutes.
“It was pretty fun. It reminded me of the games back in college and the NFL. The crowd was super crazy and really loud. It just took me back,” Kamalu said.
Before signing with the Lions this past December, Kamalu bounced around several NFL teams, most notably with the New England Patriots back in 2018 where he earned a Super Bowl ring.
He arrived in Kamloops more than a month ago with a big question mark while approaching his first CFL season.
“I didn’t really have any expectations coming in because I learned the best way to achieve the outcome you want is not to have any grand expectations coming in. Just come in and do the work that has to be done and excel,” Kamalu said.
Most of the Lions’ defensive front is still relatively unknown of by the rest of the league. It fuels them to prove everyone wrong and they have gotten closer as a group.
During the mandatory quarantine for U.S. players and staff when they arrived in Kamloops before the start of training camp, the players spent the majority of their time in their room — with limited workouts. When they are finally able to interact with each other, the defensive line bonded immediately.
“Most of us are from the States, so we came in with the same mindset of working hard, grinding, and making the team. So that made us get really close and that also translated into camp. We just kept building on it and now we’re tight-knit,” Kamalu said.
For instance, Kamalu would sing a song from his middle school days by Akon or Usher to J.R. Tavai and tried to get the song stuck in his head. Tavai would then do the same by picking a song to sing to Kamalu in the next practice.
“This is the stuff we do to each other to make it fun,” Kamalu said.
The most familiar name on this defensive line would be Tavai, who spent 2018 & 2019 with the Ottawa REDBLACKS. The rest of the group is made up of either rookies from the draft or American free agent signings. Some talented individuals in addition to Kamalu are Obum Gwacham, Josh Banks, Ade Aruna, Tim Bonner and many more.
Last Friday night, the defence ultimately came away with a sack by rookie Jordan Williams and an interception from T.J. Lee that sparked some life for the Lions in the second half. But following a 31-0 first-half deficit, it was too much to overcome.
“We started the game really slow. The ball was coming out quickly and they were doing a lot of short routes. I was getting in there, Boom (Gwacham) was getting in there, we were all getting in there. But the ball was being thrown very quickly. And they were also doing a lot of no-huddle. But now we’ve experienced it, we know what to expect.”
“They were consistent with the run in the first half. They couldn’t do that in the second half because they had to throw the ball deeper.”
“We took it personally because we know what we can do and what we’re here to do. In practice today, we talked through some stuff like using our hands better. Just the stuff we’ve done in the past but put more emphasis on it. I know the next game is going to be a huge improvement,” said Kamalu Monday afternoon.
The Lions will go through a short turnaround this week to face the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (PT)
Both the Lions and Stampeders are looking to redeem themselves after falling short in Week one. The task this week for the Lions defence is keeping the pressure on Bo Levi Mitchell and stopping Kamar Jorden, who appeared to be 100 percent since his knee injury back in 2018. Jorden hauled in 85 yards and a touchdown last Saturday against the Toronto Argonauts.
“It’s a short week, so you don’t have time to do a lot. As a defence, just being healthy, get to the training room, getting in cold tubs and adjusting to defend what Calgary does,” Kamalu said.
Back to the weight room and film session it is. The Lions will have one more walkthrough practice before departing for Calgary.