Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
When the BC Lions signed Chris Williams this off-season, their already explosive offence got a little bit more dangerous.
Williams, a small and speedy receiver, was one of the four pass-catchers to surpass 1,000 yards in Ottawa last season – and he only played in 14 games.
Adding another speedster to the mix in BC – the Lions already have one of the most explosive return men in the CFL in Chris Rainey – could be final piece to push the Lions over the edge this season.
“It might sound crazy,” receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux said, “but I’m excited about camp so we can see how this team is going to start to form and how the puzzle starts to take place and the picture starts to develop. I think a big thing is for guys to buy in because we had talent last year.”
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Williams poses with his BC Lions jersey after signing with the team earlier this season (CFL.ca)
He’s talking about the potent offence, led by 24-year-old quarterback Jonathon Jennings, that helped the Lions to a 12-6-0 record in 2016.
The Lions led the league in rushing yards (2,082), rushing touchdowns (23) and were third in total points (545). Arceneaux and Bryan Burnham also finished the season third and fourth in the league in receiving yards respectively.
Offensive linemen also found the end zone last season – Jovan Olafioye, who has since signed with the Montreal Alouettes, caught a touchdown pass against the Saskatchewan Roughriders back in September.
The Lions had plenty of weapons to choose from – Arceneaux, Burnham, Rainey and running back Jeremiah Johnson to name a few – and now they’ve added one more.
“It’s funny because you look at our offence last year, we had playmakers,” said Johnson. “At any given time, any one of us can make plays. Even down to our linemen. You saw Olafioye catching touchdown passes. We have a really dynamic group. And when you add the likes of Chris Williams, it’s almost uncanny to be like ‘wow, now we have two blazing fast guys back there. Teams are going to have to pick their poison’.”
Two seasons ago, Williams had a choice to make – don the red and black in Ottawa or sport the orange in BC. He chose to go to the REDBLACKS, a decision that ended up being a good one for the 29-year-old.
Williams saw back-to-back Grey Cup appearances and, although he was on the sidelines with a knee injury, his team won the coveted trophy this past season.
“I’m excited about camp so we can see how this team is going to start to form and how the puzzle starts to take place and the picture starts to develop.”
Manny Arceneaux
Williams surpassed the 1000-yard mark for the fourth time in as many seasons in 2016 with the REDBLACKS (CFL.ca)
But as fate would have it, Williams hit the free agent market in February and the team that he had passed on two seasons ago came knocking at his door.
“Honestly, it was the perfect timing,” he told CFL.ca in an interview at Mark’s CFL Week in Regina. “When I had chosen Ottawa in 2015, it was between BC and Ottawa. I was leaning towards BC but I got to talking to Hank (Burris) and a couple of other guys who kind of persuaded me to go the other way and it worked out.
“Now the timing was right to go to BC and looking forward to doing the same thing and trying to get a Grey Cup.”
Last year, the 5-foot-9, 155-pound wideout caught 77 passes for 1,246 yards and 10 majors and was named a CFL East Division All-Star. He also broke the record for the most receiving yards in the first three games of a season, collecting 493 yards and scoring six touchdowns.
The Lions were close to getting to the final contest in late November – they lost the Western Final to the Calgary Stampeders – and Williams hopes that his talents can help bring a Grey Cup back to BC.
“I hope I can be the guy to put them over the top. One of them anyways,” he said. “I know that we can do some things on offence that’s pretty special and that’s coming from a group where I just was that did something that no one’s ever done in history with two-straight years of four guys with a 1,000 (yards). This team has the potential to do that as well, if not more.
“I’m looking forward to it. We’ve got to get down, we’ve got to work hard, we’ve got to get our hands dirty and get in there.”
