Javier Glatt Archives | BC Lions Football

The off-season departures have been happening for awhile now, but this time it was the club itself that initiated the moves. The BC Lions announced Friday that they had re-signed veteran defensive end Brent Johnson to a two year contract extension. They also announced the release of linebacker Javier Glatt and offensive tackle Jason Jimenez.

From the TEAM 1040 on Brent Johnson:

33-year-old Brent Johnson is back in the Lions Den for at least another two seasons, after inking a new deal with the team.

The defensive lineman had just six sacks and 39 tackles last season, his worst output as a Lion, but remains an integral part of a defensive line that has always been one of the Lions’ strengths.

Johnson, a two-time Outstanding Defensive Player winner, told BS in the Morning that he very seriously pondered retirement after the Lions were knocked out of the 2009 playoffs by Montreal.

“It was a consideration of mine after the end of the season and the 48 hours after the Montreal game. That was a consideration where a lot of people – I think if you went around the room and stuck a microphone in their face they’d say, ‘Well, maybe this is enough’. But getting some perspective away, I think my heart is still in it and I have a passion to play, so when the Lions once again came to the table and said you’ll have an opportunity with us, it works for me.”

Glatt’s release was somewhat of a telegraphed move by Buono last season when the Canadian linebacker lost his starting spot to Jojuan Armour. Glatt had 362 tackles and nine interceptions in seven seasons with the team, including a big hit and fumble recovery that sealed the 2006 Grey Cup Championship for the Lions.

Jimenez’s release was a surprise, mostly because we don’t know who the team has in miond for a replacement. Canadian Justin Sorensen played tackle in college, and after a year of experience and another off-season of training may be ready to assume the role, but the Lions seem to like to go with imports at the tackle position. Jimenez joined the Lions in 2006, and was a CFL All-Star in 2008.

UPDATE: More details came to light on the releases of Glatt and Jimenez. Our follow up is here.

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When former BC Lions star Bobby Singh was a young man starting on his way to a professional football career, he dreamed of creating a football camp for kids one day. That dream came true for Singh on May 30th when he hosted the first annual Down Set Hut Football Camp for kids in his home town of Richmond, BC. With perfect weather and a bunch of his CFL friends joining him, Singh provided a great day of football fun for over 100 kids ages 7-15.

In addition to Bobby, the camp featured current BC Lions Geroy Simon, Javier Glatt, Barron Miles, Dean Valli, Paul McCallum, Angus Reid, Sherko Haji-Rasouli and rookie Justin Sorensen. They were joined by Will Loftus of the Montreal Alouettes and Marc Beswick of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and a host of junior players and coaches.

Geroy Simon puts a young receiver through his paces.

The kids were split up into groups and spent 18 minutes at various stations designed to teach them the different aspects of the game, everything from receiving, defending, tackling, kicking and offensive line play. Each station had designated coaches giving the kids tips and encouragement. The kids also received t-shirts, prizes and talks from the CFL players and at the end of the day they got to a play a touch football game with them as well.

Singh not only plans to make the camp an annual event, his plan is to make it bigger and better, and spread it around the province as well, telling BCLionsDen.ca that next year his goal is to do a camp in the lower mainland, one on Vancouver Island, and one in the Okanagan. Singh also sponsored 20 or so kids out of his own pocket from the Boy and Girls Clubs of Vancouver.

One of the things the late Bob Ackles wanted to improve on upon his return to the Lions was building football at the grassroots level, and camps like this certainly contribute to building that foundation. CFL players are so outstanding interacting with the fans and it’s great to see a player of Bobby Singh’s stature give back to the community by introducing these kids to the game of football.

If you would like more information on Bobby Singh’s camp make sure you visit the website at http://www.downsethutfootball.com

Lions Re-Sign Brent Johnson: Glatt and Jimenez Released

Down, Set, Hut!

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