Football: Gaiters' Lee focused, grateful to Blugh

There are a ton of "local product at the CFL combine" stories, but this one on Bishop's running back Jamall Lee goes into what he's done to get ready for the pros, and what Gaiters coach Leroy Blugh has helped with his development.

Lee's agent likens him to Jerome Pathon, who went from Acadia to the Washington Huskies in the Pac-10 (when Washington), to a long NFL receiving career. At the very least, though, he's got a chance to be the first Canadian since Sean Millington to be a 1,000-yard rusher in the CFL.
"(Lee) took an entire semester away from Bishop's, flew to San Diego, and began training at the Rep 1 sports facility with NCAA collegians preparing for the intense scrutiny of the NFL combine. Rep 1, an athlete representation group based in Irvine, Calif., counts Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger among its clients.

" 'I don't know many other Canadians who have done that, personally,' says Lee, a two-time CIS rushing leader. 'I just feel it's a great opportunity. I want to take advantage of it and strike while the iron's hot. I'm a very hard worker. No matter where I end up, I'll make an impact there.' "

" ... At the start, Jamall was a breakaway threat for the small, liberal arts university in Quebec's Eastern Townships. But not with the football. Lee simply wanted to run away.

" 'It was very, very hard at first,' he says. 'I missed my family. I flew back home a few times. But I matured. Coach Blugh basically turned me into a man. I'm not the greatest student and he set up tutors for me to get some help.' "
It's still hard to believe that Lee wasn't a hotly sought-after player coming out of high school. What town is Leroy Blugh from, by the way? It has been mentioned here once already today.

Related:
Lee trained with NCAA players to prepare for CFL camp; Serious about being noticed (Mike Beamish, Vancouver Sun)
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1 comment:

  1. I'll never forget the morning I saw the first mention of Lee getting 391 yards against McGill. I thought it had to be a typo.

    Lee has had problems against Laval and Concordia in the past, but actually had pretty good numbers this year against both teams. He opened the season with 62 yards against Concordia, had 70 against Laval and in Bishop's win against Concordia he had 189 yards.

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