Lionbackers.com

I’ve mentioned before that I believe Torey Hunter’s three-month suspension for trolling the Eskimos on social media severely handicapped the Lions’ offseason recruiting efforts. Hunter was suspended for the entire college bowl season from November through January when other teams were stocking their neg lists with prime CFL prospects. Once that window of opportunity closes, it can’t be reopened. All a team can do is poach other teams’ prospects once they’re released, which is what the Lions have been doing.

Yeah, B.C.FAN, I don't think you're overstating the significance of that situation. There were gonna be ramifications to a lengthy (and IMO deserved) suspension to a man at that position in the organization, even if responsibilities were delegated to others to whatever degree. And it's left a sour taste regards Hunter for me. What does it say about someone's strength of character to get carried away with that sort of pettiness? Perhaps on one level it's laughable and one can shrug it off, but it's stuck with me. I'm left wondering what kind of job he can do for us if he's that easily distracted with personal side issues. I hope he's learned from this, and if he's cleaned up his act and got his focus back, I wish him well. He's got his work cut out for him.

David wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 23, 2019 10:02 pm

B.C.FAN wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 23, 2019 12:30 pm

After the latest transactions, I believe Victor Gamboa is the only rookie American on the active roster, and he was a training camp cut of Ottawa last year.

With Ketter's release today, we only have 3 players on the entire roster still with the club from their off-season US recruiting (that attended training camp), one of whom (Boesen) graduated in 2016 and is 24 years old.

Grant Kraemer remains the only pure rookie free agent that comes straight from the US college ranks. Marquis Bundy is on the PR too, but he graduated in 2015 and has bounced around a couple of NFL teams.

That's 3 out of 65 players. Not a stellar off-season. I realize we signed a lot of veteran free agents. I get it. But where are the players to push the vets? Where are tomorrow's Markeith Ambles and William Stanbacks that are being groomed for starter's positions?


DH

Ambles and Stanback are similar to Boesen and Bundy. Neither are recent products of the college system. Ambles is 27. His last collegiate season was 2015. He spent training camp and the first 7 weeks of the 2016 season on the Argos' PR. Stanback, 25, graduated after the 2016 NCAA season and attended Green Bay's training camp in 2017.

Hambone wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 24, 2019 9:43 am

Ambles and Stanback are similar to Boesen and Bundy. Neither are recent products of the college system. Ambles is 27. His last collegiate season was 2015. He spent training camp and the first 7 weeks of the 2016 season on the Argos' PR. Stanback, 25, graduated after the 2016 NCAA season and attended Green Bay's training camp in 2017.

Regardless of whether they are older rookies (Boesen or Bundy) or straight out of college (Kraemer), I think you have to concede that we didn't recruit enough of either.

My point was there needs to be a stable of PR players that can push vets (this year or next) or indeed, step in if they are injured. I think we're woefully thin in certain positions should the injury bug hit


DH

David wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:42 pm

Regardless of whether they are older rookies (Boesen or Bundy) or straight out of college (Kraemer), I think you have to concede that we didn't recruit enough of either.

My point was there needs to be a stable of PR players that can push vets (this year or next) or indeed, step in if they are injured. I think we're woefully thin in certain positions should the injury bug hit


DH

Maybe I was misreading your comment as talking about Ambles and Stanback as being raw rookies straight out of college like Kraemer. I 100% agree that BC's record for bringing in young Americans to push vets has been abyssmal under Hervey. It was by far my biggest criticism of the club last year. I was hugely concerned about Hervey's blue-bin scouting through the recyclables in 2018 with Claudell Louis being the only CFL newcomer to make it beyond the PR. Last year he loaded up on 30 somethings. I think at one point BC had something like 14 players 30+ with many starting. This year I was at least buoyed by the fact the trip through the blue-bin made the team much younger as many of the newcomers were going into their prime as opposed to exiting it. I think when we broke camp we were down to maybe 3 players over 30; Reilly, Willis and Foucault.

JohnnyMusso wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 23, 2019 12:21 pm

They did not add Jordon, but instead a linebacker named Kevin Hayes, who I never heard of.

Any info on him?

According to Farhan it seems Jordan lacked "good girth". He showed up but was too light for the Lions liking.

https://www.tsn.ca/bc-lions-send-offens ... -1.1341785

Matt Baker has posted an interesting feature on Crezdon Butler at bclions.com. It turns out Butler and fellow Clemson alum and B.C. cornerback Garry Peters are off-season workout buddies. I would expect Butler to be activated this week as either a starter or a backup to Victor Gamboa, who seemed to play well at field corner after Anthony Thompson was benched last week.

BUTLER EYEING A RETURN TO BIG STAGE

According to Farhan, OL Jordan was in camp, but he was sent home for he was too light, so Lions looking at other options for the future.

This likely is the first of many changes coming in the next 2 weeks:

VANCOUVER — The BC Lions have acquired American offensive lineman Justin Renfrow and a fifth-round selection in the 2020 CFL Draft in exchange for a player off of the Lions’ negotiation list and a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2020 CFL Draft.

The deal was announced Sunday, a day after the Lions were handed a 45-18 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in which Mike Reilly was sacked four times and held to just 66 yards on 8-of-19 passing.

Renfrow, a 6-foot-6, 310-pound tackle, has spent the past two-plus seasons with Calgary, seeing action in seven games in 2017 and 2018. The Philadelphia native began his pro career as a member of the Arizona Cardinals where we was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2014.

Renfrow, a University of Miami grad, also spent time with Green Bay, Seattle, Dallas and Buffalo in the NFL before joining the Stamps in 2017.

August 7, 2019
Add to practice roster: WR Joey Augustin (A)
Release from practice roster: WR Marquis Bundy (A)

Lions have given up on Bundy. He is cut to make room for Augustin.

JohnnyMusso wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 08, 2019 1:08 pm

August 7, 2019
Add to practice roster: WR Joey Augustin (A)
Release from practice roster: WR Marquis Bundy (A)

Lions have given up on Bundy. He is cut to make room for Augustin.

Bundy over Augustin out of training camp/pre-season was a total surprise to me. All Bundy did in the regular season was drop catchable balls and not compete for balls. One can only hope that Augustin can deliver on the promise that he showed in pre-season.

Would not be surprised if Augustin was told to go home and rehab an injury sustained late in the final preseason game.


DH

David wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 08, 2019 10:58 pm

Would not be surprised if Augustin was told to go home and rehab an injury sustained late in the final preseason game.


DH