Lions Sign Two more ex-Cal's

[Rammer]

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/spor ... story.html

VANCOUVER — The B.C. Lions signed receiver Cameron Morrah and running back Brendan Bigelow on Tuesday.

The international players are familiar to first-year Lions head coach Jeff Tedford, who coached both at the University of California.

After college, Morrah played 27 games for the Seattle Seahawks from 2009 to 2011, finishing with 16 receptions for 194 yards. After being released by Seattle, the 28-year-old had brief stints with San Francisco, Detroit and Denver.

Bigelow attended the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp last season after four years at Cal under Tedford.

The 22-year-old rushed for 877 yards on 155 carries with five touchdowns during his time with the Golden Bears. He added 42 receptions for 305 yards and was also a special teams' threat with 1,363 yards on 62 kickoff returns.

Morrah and Bigelow join former Cal receiver Lavelle Hawkins on the Lions' roster after the 28-year-old signed with the team last month.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/spor ... z3WeqT5wsN

[TheLionKing]

With the number of U Cal alumni on the Lions, might we see Joe Kapp in training camp ?

[David]

This reminds me of the start of the Vic Rapp era when we loaded up with ex-Missouri Tigers (Jim Harrison, Jim Schneitz, Doug Seymour, Tyrone Walls etc).


DH

[TheLionKing]

Jim Harrison was a disaster. Thank God, he lasted one season.

[David]

Haha, you're right TLK. He wasn't very good. Lasted only 1 season. He was a big fullback - about 6'2" 230 lbs. One game in '77 he had 3 cracks from the 1 and couldn't make it over the goal line and we lost.

Then we signed another fullback for the '78 season. William Henry Olds (who?), or Bill Olds who was a great prospect (NFL experience IIRC) but blew his knee out in the very first scrimmage at training camp. Then we signed Calvin Culliver from Alabama who also didn't have great success up here. Thank goodness John Henry White and Harry Holt came along soon after!


DH

[sj-roc]

Haha, you're right TLK. He wasn't very good. Lasted only 1 season. He was a big fullback - about 6'2" 230 lbs. One game in '77 he had 3 cracks from the 1 and couldn't make it over the goal line and we lost.

...which I just discovered brings up an interesting what-if, one that I suppose you've probably already played through your mind a million times, but might not be as familiar to other fans like myself who haven't followed the team for as long. Edm/BC/Wpg all finished 10-6 in 1977 and were seeded in that 1-2-3 order after invoking tiebreakers. Had BC scored in that scenario and won that game, then all else being equal they would have finished first at 11-7 and hosted the WF at Empire.

Not sure exactly which game it was but from https://stats.cfldb.ca/team/bc-lions/1977/ I see that the only ones BC lost by 6 or less that year are these: one at home and one on the road so you can prob figure it out from that,

Tue. Aug. 9, EDM 24 @ BC 18 att:26,131
Sun. Oct. 2, BC 15 @ WPG 19 att:25,210

If the latter, I wonder if crowd noise might have been a factor.

[TheLionKing]

Haha, you're right TLK. He wasn't very good. Lasted only 1 season. He was a big fullback - about 6'2" 230 lbs. One game in '77 he had 3 cracks from the 1 and couldn't make it over the goal line and we lost.

He's my candidate for the worst running back in the Lions' history. It's totally pathetic to see him lumbering up to the line of scrimmage and falls down. I believe his longest gain from scrimmage was 6 yards.

[leo4life]

The club also announced they extented WR Marco Ianuzzi through 2016.

[Rammer]

The club also announced they extented WR Marco Ianuzzi through 2016.

I am reminded that these contracts aren't binding to the club, just the players.

[cromartie]

The club also announced they extented WR Marco Ianuzzi through 2016.

Ugh. Really?

[Blitz]

The club also announced they extented WR Marco Ianuzzi through 2016.

Ugh. Really?

I'm thrilled!!!

[Blitz]

The club also announced they extented WR Marco Ianuzzi through 2016.

Ugh. Really?

What I do like is that the Lions are not only signing some big recievers but it also looks like they are going to potentially use a big import tight end in some packages. Brings back memories of Harry Holt and Pat Claridge.

[TheLionKing]

The BC Lions announced Thursday morning that national receiver Marco Iannuzzi has signed a contract extension with the team through the 2016 season.

Iannuzzi enters his fifth year with the Lions after originally joining the club as its first selection (sixth overall) in the 2011 CFL Draft. The Calgary native and Harvard graduate has appeared in 62 regular season games tallying 73 receptions for 786 yards and seven touchdowns.

“Marco gives us solid Canadian depth at multiple receiving positions as well as key special teams contributions so this is a key extension for the club,” said VP of football operations and GM Wally Buono.

Last season, Marco notched 11 catches for 124 yards over 14 regular season games and also set a career-high with 401 kickoff return yards on 19 attempts, including a dazzling 59-yard return in a playoff-clinching win at Winnipeg on October 25th.

“I’m very pleased to sign this extension,” said Iannuzzi. “This community has given so much to me and my family since coming here in 2011 and I’m really excited about the team we’re going to have this season.”

[Rodu]

Morah is listed as a TE, and at 6'3 250 he's a big receiver for this league. Interesting to see what we have planned for him. We have no other TE's listed, but if he is of the more receiving orientated TE he could create match up problems with smaller CFL defences

[Toppy Vann]

How did the Lions miss this SFU player?

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/footb ... ederated=1

Lemar Durant REC.

One advantage the Lions get (IF any of these guys can play at a high level) from the Cal players who played for Tedford is the culture change as it helps when players know the HC and what he is looking for and values.

If they can't play well - then we all know how that turns out. Badly if the HC clings to them.