D-DAY FOR LIONS HOPEFULS
Buono in process of paring roster
On some level, Wally Buono understands the absurdity of the situation.
Buono and his coaching staff have been evaluating the 85 players at B.C. Lions training camp for all of two weeks. Based on this limited sample size, the head coach will be making a determination on the careers of these young men.
Buono will decide if they’ve earned another week of practice. He’ll decide if they’ll get a shot in the June 16 pre-season game at B.C. Place. Every one of these hopefuls was the best player on their high school team, a highly recruited prospect who went to college with dreams of the NFL. Some of them even came this close to fulfilling that lofty dream.
Now Buono might keep six, maybe eight of the newbies while the rest are set adrift to try again — if they still have the heart.
“I know it’s hard,” Buono said. “Half these guys have never seen our game (CFL) and now we’re asking them to play at a high level.”
But his sympathy goes only so far.
“It’s part of being a professional football player,” Buono continued. “You’ve got to stay on top of it every day. You’ve got to come to work every day. You can have a day or two where you look good, but if you fade, that says a lot.”
Which he knows isn’t always fair, but who said the game is fair?
Fifteen or so players will be released this weekend. In the old days, those about to meet their fate were told, “Coach wants to see you. Bring your playbook.” Now it’s, “Coach wants to see you. Bring your iPad and charger.”
Cut-down day is just part of the dreary ritual of training camp and those who are about to be
gonged first never really had a chance. The more interesting decisions are yet to come, but even those players are fighting massive odds.
A couple have impressed. A couple have fought their way to the bubble. Some of them are even in a fight for one of the three or four available starting jobs. Now they have one more week to impress, one week to make it impossible for the coaches to cut them.
“It is a stressful time,” safety Tevin McDonald said.
“Every day is an interview. You think about every little thing but that’s part of the grind of the game, being able to put that stuff aside and focus on the job.”
McDonald is one of the bubble players.
The son of former NFL allpro safety Tim McDonald, the 24-year-old was a blue-chip recruit to UCLA in 2010. He made freshman all-American in 2011 and started again as a sophomore in 2012. He was then booted off the Bruins for violating team policy, transferred to Eastern Washington for two years and spent 2015 with the Oakland Raiders.
He’s had moments at this camp, but his long-term prospects may depend on whether Buono decides to play an import or Canadian at safety.
Still, there are enough stories out there that provide hope for the long shots. In 2011, Mike Reilly was fourth on the Lions’ depth chart at quarterback when he got thrown into a pre-season game against Saskatchewan, went eight-for-eight for 108 yards and two TDs and made the team. In 2015, he led the Edmonton Eskimos to the Grey Cup.
Geroy Simon, the Lions’ director of Canadian scouting, is qualified to speak on this subject. After leaving Maryland he was cut nine times by NFL teams. Simon retired after 15 seasons in the CFL as the league’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards.
“There are a lot of different opportunities out there,” Simon says. “I tell them to keep working. If it’s meant to be it will be, but you have to stay true to your dream.”
And it’s a powerful dream, powerful enough to keep you going, powerful enough to break your heart.
The Lions announced Thursday ■ that defensive tackle Frank Alexander has returned to the U.S. to rehab his nagging foot injury. His status will be updated later in the season. The NFL veteran was projected as a member of the Lions’ defensive line rotation.