With a full week of training camp practice under their belts, more than a few first-year BC Lions have proven they are worthy of getting a long, hard look. One of those is cornerback Lorando Johnson.
A former standout with the Baylor Bears, Johnson began his maiden CFL camp with the starters in place of Garry Peters, as the veteran continues to ease his way back in following an injury-plagued 2025 season.
Occupying that spot on Thursday was newcomer Tyson Russell, who moved north following a training camp stint with the Detroit Lions last year. This will be one of the few key battles to watch for as we get into the meat of the action. Only nine days separate these rookies from their first pre-season test.
“It’s a great competition. I think we’re all here trying to play. We want to show that we can do it at the pro level,” explained Johnson.
“Everybody’s eating and working for the same thing. Even when we’re over there in the dorms, we’re still pushing each other no matter what. We’re starting to build a little brotherhood.”
Team bonding is always an essential piece to the long grind that is training camp.
Practice Points: Thursday, May 14
Thursday was the club’s first ‘power practice’ of 2026 camp, resulting in the second half featuring pads after a lighter opening session.
Another young gun battling in the secondary is Essang Bassey, he of 43 games of experience combined with the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers across 2020-23. Bassey recorded an interception in the situational drills.
T.J. Lee made his presence felt in the same period, recording an interception and a couple of big pass breakups. The old veteran is no doubt fuelled by the emergence of these young guns.
Seven McGee continues to get work in with the number one unit in place of Stanley Berryhill III. As ‘Stack’ continues to work his way back from a tweaked hamstring, McGee is backing up his words from the other day when breaking down his improvement from year one and his desire to work in some offensive packages in addition to his return game prowess.
Other notable big plays on this day came from receivers Hergy Mayala and Michael Fitzgerald. The latter had a nice chemistry established with rookie quarterback Kaidon Salter.
It might be something of a regular theme that’s being mentioned early on, but Lions fans will grow to love middle linebacker Darnell Sankey in a real hurry. His knack for making big plays is one thing. His status as a real vocal leader of this confident unit is another.
The Lions are back at practice on Friday from 2:30-5:30 pm at Hillside Stadium. Practices are free and open to the public.
FanFest presented by BCLC is set for Saturday from 1:30-7:30 pm. Fans are encouraged to dress for the weather, as the free event for fans of all ages is rain or shine!
Quotable
“Coming out here and competing with these guys, it makes me better every single day. It’s something that I really enjoy and I’m super-blessed to be a part of. Coming out here every single day, I’m fired up. I’m so happy to be in BC.”- 1st round pick Nate Demontagnac on camp life.