BC Lions Thread

[jerrym]

GM Ed Hervey discusses what he is looking for in players, his relationship with Buono, and the restructing of Jonathan Jennings contract with the aim of using the savings to improve the OL, which gave the most sacks and pressures in the league last year.

https://www.tsn.ca/lions-re-work-con...nings-1.966450

[jerrym]

Uzooma Okeke has turned down a contract extension as Football Operations Assistant/Scout with the Alouettes and joined the BC Lions instead. Okeke had been in Montreal since 2007 and the change to BC was a lateral move rather than a promotion, so it seems much more likely that he had been comfortable there until the problems became overwhelming. With so many others in management escaping the chaos of Montreal under Kavis Reed, including a flood of administrators and players who moved to Toronto, this is another sign of the deep trouble in Montreal.

The BC Lions Football Club today announced that UzoomaOkeke has been added to the team’s football operations department as its southeast regional scout.
Okeke, whose career in the CFL dates back to his days with the Shreveport Pirates in 1994 is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (2014) and was most recently part of the Montreal Alouettes player personnel staff.
“Having established more than 10 years of effectively scouting both Canadian and American players makes Uzooma a very valuable addition to our player personnel department,” said GM Ed Hervey from Los Angeles where he is currently attending practices in advance of Saturday’s NFLPA Bowl. “His remarkable playing career combined with his dedication to the role of a scout has given him a distinct eye for talented football players uniquely suited for the CFL.”
A graduate of SMU, the hulking offensive tackle was a seven-time CFL All-Star and earned the league’s Most Outstanding Lineman award in 1999. He appeared in four Grey Cup games with the Als, winning in 2002. Following his retirement after the 2006 season, the Texas native joined the Montreal front office where he served through 2017.

https://www.bclions.com/2018/01/18/lions-add-uzooma-okeke-scouting-staff-set-us-free-agent-camp-dates/

[jerrym]

Jordan Herdman discusses how playing in the Senior Bowl last year helped him. He also talks about his twin brother winning the Grey Cup with the Argos.

He parlayed his Senior Bowl experience into springtime workouts with the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions. ...
Along with impressing those important onlookers, another big perk of suiting up in Mobile is the chance to test your skills against some of the top talent the NCAA has to offer. Herdman’s teammates included Chiefs’ running back Kareem Hunt, Philadelphia Eagles’ running back Corey Clement and receiver Trent Taylor, now with the San Francisco 49ers. The quarterback contingent in that game included the Buffalo Bills’ Nathan Peterman and future Pittsburgh Steelers’ draft pick Josh Dobbs.
Imagine being a quiet, humble kid from the Burnaby Mountain campus surrounded by all of that talent in a football-mad environment like Alabama.
“You can tell football is just religion down there,” he said. ...
To say the experience paid off for Herdman would be an understatement. The club’s seventh-round draft choice recorded 19 special teams tackles in his rookie season, second only to Chandler Fenner. He also was known for being one of the more tenacious members of the special teams coverage unit. Now comes the task of increasing that output in year two. ...

“I’m definitely excited and I expect a lot from myself this coming year,” Herdman stated.
“I want to prove it each year and have high hopes for every season.”
The fact his twin brother Justin earned a Grey Cup championship in his rookie season with the Toronto Argonauts is all the motivation he needs these days.
“Yeah he is definitely happy about that and has bragged a couple times about getting his ring,” Jordan chuckled.
“I’m happy for him. A lot of guys go their whole career without winning one. I was so happy for him. That’s the goal every year, to get to that Grey Cup. I am just as hungry as I was last year to get it. I’m just going to do what I can to put the work in so I can be ready when the season comes.”

https://www.bclions.com/2018/01/23/j...bowl-memories/