Official Kamloops Training Camp 2015 Thread

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David
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Day 1. Rookies only.

You have to love this. Travis selflessly arrives in Kamloops early to help the young guys (and of course pick up all the nuances of the Tedford/Cortez offense as well). Travis is a natural leader. I really hope his shoulder has healed. HERE.

Not that this means anything yet, but the quarterback depth chart for the rookies is as follows:

Greg McGhee
Grant Hedrick
Jonathon Jennings
Aaron Wilmer
(Michael O'Connor)


Somewhat surprising to see Hedrick #2 given that the Boise State star just signed and hasn't even had the benefit of Spring Camp, quarterback school, and an opportunity to study the offense yet.


DH :cool:
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B.C.FAN
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David wrote:Day 1. Rookies only.

You have to love this. Travis selflessly arrives in Kamloops early to help the young guys (and of course pick up all the nuances of the Tedford/Cortez offense as well). Travis is a natural leader. I really hope his shoulder has healed. HERE.

Not that this means anything yet, but the quarterback depth chart for the rookies is as follows:

Greg McGhee
Grant Hedrick
Jonathon Jennings
Aaron Wilmer
(Michael O'Connor)


Somewhat surprising to see Hedrick #2 given that the Boise State star just signed and hasn't even had the benefit of Spring Camp, quarterback school, and an opportunity to study the offense yet.


DH :cool:
Good for McGhee. He seemed to struggle when I saw him in the first two days of minicamp. Hedrick has perhaps the best college pedigree so I'm not surprised to see him high on the depth chart. He'll still have a steep learning curve.

According to Mike Beamish, Hedrick and Wilmer struggled on the first day of rookie camp, having missed the team's spring minicamp. Also revealed in the Beamish report is news that John Beck was admitted to a Vancouver hospital for tests on an undisclosed illness.

Vancouver Sun article

I plan to arrive in Kamloops Saturday and to be on hand for the early session on Sunday. The first day of training camp is always the most important. Football season is here at last!
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WestCoastJoe
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David wrote:Day 1. Rookies only.

You have to love this. Travis selflessly arrives in Kamloops early to help the young guys (and of course pick up all the nuances of the Tedford/Cortez offense as well). Travis is a natural leader. I really hope his shoulder has healed. HERE.

Not that this means anything yet, but the quarterback depth chart for the rookies is as follows:

Greg McGhee
Grant Hedrick
Jonathon Jennings
Aaron Wilmer
(Michael O'Connor)


Somewhat surprising to see Hedrick #2 given that the Boise State star just signed and hasn't even had the benefit of Spring Camp, quarterback school, and an opportunity to study the offense yet.


DH :cool:
http://www.bclions.com/video/index/id/110243#

As one can see, Travis is still a player, but he is also a QB coach already. Natural born. :thup:
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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David wrote:Day 1. Rookies only.

You have to love this. Travis selflessly arrives in Kamloops early to help the young guys (and of course pick up all the nuances of the Tedford/Cortez offense as well). Travis is a natural leader. I really hope his shoulder has healed. HERE.

Not that this means anything yet, but the quarterback depth chart for the rookies is as follows:

Greg McGhee
Grant Hedrick
Jonathon Jennings
Aaron Wilmer
(Michael O'Connor)


Somewhat surprising to see Hedrick #2 given that the Boise State star just signed and hasn't even had the benefit of Spring Camp, quarterback school, and an opportunity to study the offense yet.


DH :cool:
I`m not surprised that our Leos rate Hedrick as high as they are. After all he led the NCAA in passing percentage last season and he is also mobile. However, I didn`t think they would place him on the depth chart so highly to start with.

Hedrick, because he is 6 feet and around 200 pounds did not fit the prototype for the NFL. However, he can make all the throws, has a soft touch when needed, he has pocket presence, and he was also a very smart quarterback at the college level. All those things bode well for him as he attempts to make our lineup for 2015. I wouldn`t be surprised that two of the quarterbacks on the list are on our roster for the first game of the year. I had a feeling that unless Beck really impressed in training camp that he would be gone and that hasn`t changed.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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squishy35
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I caught about 20 minutes of camp yesterday. McGhee and Hedrick both show a lot of athleticism and strong arms. Both seem to have good instincts... I will spend my lunch hour up there today and will file a report later. ......
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squishy35
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squishy35 wrote:I caught about 20 minutes of camp yesterday. McGhee and Hedrick both show a lot of athleticism and strong arms. Both seem to have good instincts... I will spend my lunch hour up there today and will file a report later. ......

Ok.... I got about a 1/2 hour in over my lunch.... McGhee, and Jennings had taken reps. McGhee more accurate and appeared better at spotting the open receiver.

O'Connor was throwing in warm up.... had a lot of zip and accuracy on his limited throws. Other than that I will defer to others that may have been at today's session.
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Toppy Vann
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Thanks for the reports.

I'm not surprised Lulay's there as it's new to him too. They're team guys, but no one in pro sports is willing to concede his job to another. It's interesting though that Dickenson has a slight change view now that he's a coach but with one slight difference. He and the HC make sure the injured player is not losing his job - that fear is what drives players to not want to come out.

This QB video from day 2 shows a lot of throws off the run. Either that signals how they want to play a bit or these are just drills to test who can run and still be accurate.

http://www.bclions.com/video/index/id/110243

Glad to know that Rodgers left for a new potential career with Tedford's blessing.
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David
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Looks like the Leos have made up their minds which QBs they're taking to tomorrow's first day of camp.
Mike Beamish ‏@sixbeamers 6m6 minutes ago Kamloops, British Columbia

#BCLions release rookie QBs Grant Hedrick (Boise State), Aaron Wilmer (Delaware Valley) and linebacker Terrance Bullitt (Texas Tech).
McGhee and Jennings it is....


DH :cool:
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WestCoastJoe
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David wrote:Looks like the Leos have made up their minds which QBs they're taking to tomorrow's first day of camp.
Mike Beamish ‏@sixbeamers 6m6 minutes ago Kamloops, British Columbia

#BCLions release rookie QBs Grant Hedrick (Boise State), Aaron Wilmer (Delaware Valley) and linebacker Terrance Bullitt (Texas Tech).
McGhee and Jennings it is....


DH :cool:
This shows good depth with the QBs brought in. Hedrick looked promising, so the guys we kept must be looking that much better.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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B.C.FAN
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Interesting. All five QBs on the main training camp roster were here for minicamp. It definitely pays to spend extra time learning the offence and the Canadian game.
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B.C.FAN
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Here are a couple of training camp previews from Mike Beamish and Lowell Ullrich as the players get set to hit the field for Day 1 on a sunny Sunday in Kamloops:

From Beamish:
Lions' backup QB position "wide open", Tedford says

From Ullrich:
‘I’m here to create something,’ vows new Lions coach Jeff Tedford
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B.C.FAN
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Camp is underway and the first surprise on the opening-day depth chart is that Matt Norman is listed as starter at LG ahead of Kirby Fabien. Rookie international John Estes of Hawaii is listed as the starting centre. The rest of the offence is as it was at minicamp.

On defence, Cord Parks and Ronnie Yell are listed as starting corners, with T.J. Lee and Ryan Phillips at halfbacks and Chris Rwabukamba at safety. No changes at linebacker. On the DL, Westeman and Smith are listed as starting ends and rookies Tim Jackson and Zach Minter at tackles.
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David
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Here is an at-a-glance look at the depth chart:

Image


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David
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Things to note:

* As BCFAN pointed out, the biggest surprise is that Matt Norman is not listed at centre. He's first-string left guard ahead of Kirby Fabien. I wonder if he asked management in the off-season if he could switch (Dean Valli did not want to play centre either), or if the decision was made for him by Jeff Tedford after watching film in the off-season?

* Any recent concerns that Hunter Steward wouldn't be playing left tackle seem to be allayed for now. 3 Nationals on the O-line and 2 Internationals. Quite unusual for a CFL team to start an American at centre.

* Alex Bazzie will have to beat out Khreem Smith for a starting spot as the right defensive end position will go to a National. Westerman ahead of Menard (I suppose both can be rotated inside).

* Looks like we've designated a National WR to the strong side of the field. Iannuzzi is first on the depth chart but good to see BC boy Whitman Tomusiak progressing. Collie behind Gore at SB. Hmmm, you just know they're going to find a place for Collie...

* Jennings must have slipped ahead of McGhee at Rookie Camp. QB depth chart is Lulay, Beck, Partridge, Jennings, McGhee.

* Good news is that K/P Richie Leone is back. He signed here in October and was on the PR, but signed in the off-season with the Steelers. He was subsequently let go, and re-signed with the Leos yesterday. Supposedly, he hit the BC Place scoreboard with a punt at practice. :shock:


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Day 1: Sunday, May 31, morning session

I usually look forward to the first day of training camp like a kid looks forward to Christmas. This year, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and had to wait four hours to open my presents. Unfortunately, when I got to there I found several lumps of coal in my stocking.

First, the really bad news news: Injuries

Second-string RB Keola Antolin was taken down hard in the backfield in the first scrimmage session of training camp and had to be carried off the field. He spent most of the morning sitting on the bench with his right ankle propped up and wrapped in an ice bag. Fellow RBs Brendan Bigelow and Shaquille Murray-Lawrence were already sidelined by injuries and Rolly Lumbala wasn't on the field so Andrew Harris took on an unexpectedly heavy load at running back and kick returner. (More on that later.)

SB Lavelle Hawkins appeared to suffer a serious arm or shoulder injury on an overly aggressive hit by Torri Williams and was taken immediately to the locker room. (EDIT: LU says it's a broken hand.) The former Cal receiver, who played five years in Tennessee and has had stops in New England, San Francisco, San Diego and Tampa Bay (with Jeff Tedford), was buried on the depth chart behind Courtney Taylor and Bryan Burnham and didn't do himself any favours before he was hurt.

Second, the plain bad news: The O-line

It's always hard to gauge the talent of the offensive and defensive lines until they line up against an opposing team but the offensive line play this morning was the worst in all the training camps I've attended since the 1960s. They were owned by the defensive line in inside run and scrimmages. This is a rebuilt offensive line against a rebuilt defensive line with two rookie starters in the middle, and it was no contest. The defensive line had all the push.

The depth chart listed John Estes as the starter at centre and Matt Norman at left guard but in scrimmages Jason Foster took first team reps at centre in Kirby Fabien at left guard. It didn't seem to matter which unit was on the field. They couldn't open holes for Harris or the only other running back, Ricky Galvin, and tackles Hunter Steward and Josh Aladenoye showed itchy feet by jumping the snap count.

I didn't see who was winning or losing individual battles but I'll try to focus on one-on-ones in the afternoon session and on Monday. This lineup is a work in progress.

Other news by position:

Quarterback

With backup John Beck reportedly quarantined with a viral infection, the depth chart behind Travis Lulay was Travis Partridge, Jonathon Jennings and Greg McGhee. This certainly seems like a fair pecking order based on today's play.

The good news, of sorts, is that Lulay took all first team reps and made all the throws. But as in the first two days of minicamp, his passes had considerably less zip than those of the other QBs. That may be by design as the team doesn't want him to put too much strain on his shoulder but he'll have to crank it up in a game situation. Adam Bighill jumped an underneath slant route in the first scrimmage and would have had a pick-six if he had held onto the ball. Cord Parks jumped another soft slant in one-on ones. Overall, though, Lulay is miles ahead of where he was at this time last year and shows some nice accuracy on deep corner routes.

Partridge is a playmaker, and has developed nicely since his first camp last year. Then, he would buy time with his feet and find a receiver 30 yards deep coming across the field. It was sandlot football but he made plays. Today, I could see him going through his progressions and often finding his second or third receiver open 30 yards downfield. I would be perfectly comfortable with him as Lulay's main backup.

Jennings and McGhee may both throw better balls than Lulay and Partridge. They both have good arm strength but they're behind in the mental apect of quarterbacking. How well they progress may determine the fate of Beck.


Running back

If Andrew Harris was going to be allowed to progress slowly coming off last year's ankle injury, that didn't last long once other RBs started falling. I was afraid the workload would put too much strain on him, especially when he was getting bottled up at the line of scrimmage on most carries. Perhaps out of frustration, he took one carry 64 yards to the end zone long after the whistle had blown. It was the only time he saw any daylight. In the no-huddle session at the end of practice, Harris was hit hard in short succession by Bighill, CB Myron Lewis and LB Adrian Clarke. I held my breath each time but he bounced back and was mercifully pulled after the third big hit.

If you didn't know better, you'd swear that Tim Brown was out there spelling Harris at RB. Galvin, a 5-ft.-8 rookie from Washington State, inherited Brown's number 7 and looked just like him, slashing and cutting in the line. Like Harris, he didn't have much success but he played with a lot of energy and showed a good slashing style in traffic. Galvin took the final first-team reps after Harris was pulled, and also took reps as a kick returner, as did Harris and DB Darious Lane.

Receiver

Emmanuel Arceneaux, Courtney Taylor, Cam Morrah, Shawn Gore and Marco Iannuzzi took first team reps and don't seem to be in danger of losing their positions soon. Bryan Burnham put a couple of balls on the ground and Lavelle Hawkins, before he was injured, bobbled a pass in the air that was picked off by Bo Lokombo for the only interception in team play.

The H-back position will be one to watch. Morrah and his backup, A.C. Leonard, bring a new dimension to CFL offences as 250-pounders who can catch and block. They'll be tough to bring down when they get the balls in their hands but their pass catching this morning showed why they aren't still playing in the NFL as tight ends. They need to catch the ball cleanly with their hands and show more ability to make deep catches. This position is still a work in progress.

Defensive back

With new rules this year limiting downfield contact, the coaches had DBs strap their hands to their waists in drills to keep them from grabbing receivers. The new rules put defenders at a disadvantage but, fortunately for the Lions, the secondary is one of their strengths.

Cord Parks is back at field corner where he excelled as a rookie. Ronnie Yell is settling into the boundary corner where he filled in adequately last year for injured veteran Dante Marsh, who wasn't bought back.

Eleven-year veteran Ryan Phillips is the vocal leader in the secondary at the field halfback spot. He looked to be as quick as ever, and had an interception in passing drills. T.J. Lee, who impressed last year as a rookie, inherits the short-side halfback spot from Parks, which is a sign that the coaches have a lot of confidence in him.

The safety position will be one to watch. Chris Rwabukamba inherited it from free agent J.R. LaRose but wasn't noticeable in the morning session. Third-year Lion Keenan Parker, the only other DB with any experience aside from dimeback Torri Williams, is listed second on the depth chart at safety.

Linebacker

Adam Bighill is a stud. Sorry, that's not a revelation. When he wasn't endangering Andrew Harris's career and nearly snatching a pick-six off Travis Lulay, he was making plays elsewhere on the line and in the backfield. It's a joy to watch a defensive player who loves hitting people, and does it legally.

Solomon Elmimian was his usual presence in the middle but the D-line made so many plays in this practice, there wasn't much opportunity for Elimimian to clean up in the second level. He did get a warning from coaches, though, when he threw a flagrant elbow at the head of Courtney Taylor after a catch.

Bo Lokombo made his presence known, as mentioned, with the day's only interception, but was also around the ball on running plays. With Tedford planning to start two Canadians on defence, Lokombo is likely to get lots of reps as a situational player if he keeps up his play.

D-line

As mentioned above, I didn't get a good look at who was making plays, just that the line in general shut down the offensive line. Zach Minter, a 308-lb. rookie from Montana State, was noticeable in the middle. Tim Jackson, another rookie from North Carolina, also took first-team reps inside. I found myself repeatedly looking at my roster to see who these players were. Jabar Westerman and Alex Bazzie, the only D-linemen I could identify by number, were noticeable only when they jumped offside. I didn't see Khreem Smith.

Kicking

The Lions appeared to solve their kicking questions in the morning when they signed the kickoff and punting specialist they wanted all along, Richie Leone, after a failed tryout with the Pittsburgh. Leone took field goal drills along with Paul McCallum and international rookie Anthony Fera of Texas Tech. They were all accurate. Leone and Fera were booming kicks well through the end zone from the 36-yard line, giving Harris, Galvin and Lane no opportunities to practise their runbacks.
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