Training camp officially got underway at WJ Mouat Secondary school in Abbotsford Sunday. Lots of teaching and instruction happening today, in a no pads workout.
Weather: Perfect. Partially cloudy, nice breeze throughout the day.
We concentrated on the offense today, tomorrow we’ll concentrate on the defense.
Receivers:
Terrence Scott, Otis Amey, Ryan Grice-Mullen. All three of these guys have speed to burn. Grice-Mullen has the inside track on a spot, but the other two had a strong morning session. Grice-Mullen made a great 40 yard catch down field in traffic for the play of the morning. Noticeably absent was Jerel Myers, no official reason was given, but no one seemed concerned. To the recievers credit, the DB’s were interfering and holding up at will today, hopefully not a sign of bad habits forming.
Running Backs:
The Lions look to have a lot of packages for backs catching passes out of the backfield, and Ian Smart was excelling today. Tough to judge the running backs today, as plays were basically being walked through with no hitting. Junior phenom Andrew Harris looked as good as anyone, showing great hands, and great speed. With the territorial exemption available to use on Harris, the Lions can be patient and keep him around on the practice roster. Lowell Ullrich writes that Wally Buono was quite impressed with the blocking skills of Damian Sims.
Quarterbacks:
I’ve heard some say the QB’s were bad today. I would say the timing was off, with lots of new faces, rookies learning routes, and rust all contributing to a sloppy session overall. All four QB’s overthrew receivers at some point and the timing should/will get better. Of the four, Zac Champion seemed to look a little nervous out there, and seems to know that newcomer Travis Lulay could pose a real threat to his job.
Offensive Line:
The departure of Martin Bibla was elaborated on by the media in attendance as well as Wally Buono following the morning session. It appears as though Bibla was not impressed at how he was being treated by coach Dan Dorazio, and told Buono he was foreseeing a “conflict”. Bibla chose to quit and that was the end of that. The Lions brought in Washington State product Trevor Lesuma was brought in to replace Bibla. The departure and results of Rookie camp have moved Justin Sorensen back to the right side (his natural side). Walter Stith and Darren Marquez will battle it out for Murphy’s LT spot. Both Stith and Marquez had decent first days, and Stith looks to have bulked up on his already gigantic frame. It was learned that the club also released non-import Lorne Plante. Sherko-Haji-Rasouli was away on personal business.
Quote of the day:
“Remember this feeling boys, you won’t feel this way again.” – Brent Johnson to his teammates at the start of the morning session, likely referring to the beating their bodies will begin to take for the rest of the season.”
Photos:
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