Last weekend, the Tiger-Cats held an invite-only free agent camp in Florida. Ticats Head Coach Marcel Bellefeuille was on hand along with General Manager Bob O’Billovich and Southeastern Scout Danny McManus…
We’ll start off with your overall impression on last weekend’s free agent camp in Florida.
We had a Great camp in Orlando. There were upwards of 50 players that were invited… we saw a great amount of talent. It seems that every time we go out, we see more speed and more talent. There was a really positive turnout in terms of the quality of players and the different types of players.
Did any individual position groups impress you?
It was a well-rounded camp. There was an offensive lineman, a defensive lineman and a linebacker that stood out. There were also a couple of receivers and defensive backs that we liked, as well as a decent quarterback. Every position group had one or two players that could be worth an invite to training camp.
How did the players in attendance receive an invite?
There were some players that were signed earlier that were contingent on a workout – guys that we had saw on film but wanted to see them in person to verify their skill sets, record their times and see them in some one-on-ones.
They were mixed in with some players from our negotiation list and some players that have been to some smaller free agent camps of ours that we’ve pared down. It was a nice mix of different types of players there but all players who we knew something about and have the potential of being here in training camp.
When you discussed the free agent camp the team held in Buffalo earlier this month, you talked about how impressed you were with the level of speed you saw from the players there. How did this camp compare?
There was a lot of speed at both camps… probably a little more at the Florida camp. This was a little bigger camp, so we were very happy with the overall skill level of the players.
General Manager Bob O’Billovich and Southeastern scout Danny McManus joined you at the Florida camp. During the tests and drills, what are your individual duties?
We all have different roles. There’s a whole phase of testing where we time them in the 40-yard dash, shuttle runs and other drills. I stayed at the 40 while Danny would stay at the agility test. We all have separate roles in that phase.
Then we break the players into position groups and we all have different groups we work with to oversee their drills. From there, they do one-on-ones and everyone has a different role at that point. A couple of us are just evaluating and in the back taking notes, getting to know the players better.
How many of the players you saw in Florida will we see in Hamilton once training camp begins in June?
I would say two or three potentially… with the potential for some more. There were definitely two or three players that will be up here in June and some of the other guys will end up on a short list of possible camp invitees.
