Jamall Lee has some big CFL cleats to fill

Orville Lee, a former CFL rushing champion, would like nothing better than to have his son Jamall follow in his footsteps.

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Next month, Jamall will begin his first training camp with the B.C. Lions, and head coach Wally Buono has ordered specific packages for Jamall, saying the promising running back from the Vancouver suburbs will factor into the team’s plans. That storyline will be watched closely at the team’s new camp headquarters in Kamloops, because featured Canadian runners are so rare, because there is a strong local connection, and because of the family legacy.

As a rookie in 1988, Orville won a job at Ottawa Rough Riders camp and went on to rush for 1,075 yards. He became the first homegrown player to lead the league since Edmonton’s Norm Kwong in 1956.

No Canadian has done it since.

“I went in with the attitude that I’m a good enough athlete to play, and then as I gained some confidence, I thought ‘Yeah, I can do this,’” Orville says at the family home in Surrey, seated at his kitchen table with Jamall. “I wanted to play and I wanted to start. I was used to playing. And I’m sure that’s the way Jamall feels as well, with his talent and his skill set.’”

Expectations that Jamall can match Orville’s rookie campaign are ambitious, but there is a combination of “opportunity, situation and luck” at play in the Lions’ backfield, the same set of factors that led to the father’s instant stardom. It’s also worth noting that rookie long shots – Stefan Logan in 2008, and Martell Mallett in 2009 – came out of nowhere to lead B.C. in rushing the previous two seasons, and both have since left for the NFL.

The younger Lee is understated, saying the opportunity is “all he could ask for,” and that he plans to take advantage.

“He gives me props,” Jamall says of his father’s bravado. “He keeps my confidence high and tells me I’m better than him.”

“It’s the truth, man,” Orville interjects. “If you were to make comparisons … he’s probably better.”

Orville, who played six CFL seasons for three teams, and wife Ruth co-founded the Pathfinder Youth Centre Society in 2003, a non-profit organization that helps at-risk teenagers and owns foster homes throughout the Lower Mainland. The organization teaches life and employment skills, but its linchpin is a mentorship program that Orville is impressing on Jamall, who has begun speaking to Pathfinder kids.

While Jamall may not yet have his father’s gift of the gab, athletically it’s clear the acorn hasn’t fallen far from the tree. Jamall set records in the 40-yard dash and vertical jump at the CFL evaluation camp for top college prospects in 2009.

Their amateur pedigrees are also comparable. Toronto-raised Orville was a first overall draft pick out of Simon Fraser University. Jamall was the third overall choice out of Bishop’s University in 2009. B.C. traded up specifically to select him.

Jamall spent last summer with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, lasting until the final camp cuts. The 23-year-old then signed with the Lions, playing six games in a reserve role, which forfeited his rookie status for 2010.

Buono says the team has a two-back offence designed for Lee, and also expects him to take snaps as a single back. The Lions have aborted a plan to move Lee to receiver, but he nonetheless works on route running, just in case.

Under Buono, young players often have to pay their dues on special teams, serving as blockers and tacklers before gaining significant roles in the offence. But the coach suggested that he has bigger plans for Lee, calling him a “true running back” and saying he didn’t want those talents wasted by making him a fullback and special-teamer.

“We’d like to get [Lee] on the field as much as possible,” Buono said. “Athletes like him don’t come around too often.”