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Ex-B.C. Lions coach Claybrooks coming to P.G. for junior Kodiaks spring football camp

1992 Super Bowl winner with Tampa Bay Bucs adds championship pedigree to all-star cast of coaches for inaugural camp
Kodiaks coach Devone Claybrooks Super Bowl 1992
Devone Claybrooks (93) celebrates winning the Super Bowl in 1992 with Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammate Ellis Wyms. Claybrooks is coming to Prince George May 27-29 to help coach the junior Kodiaks spring camp at Masich Place Stadium.

Considering his background as a CFL all-star and two-time Grey Cup champion, it’s no real surprise that when Keon Raymond cast out his line to try to hook some of his football friends to launch the inaugural season of the Prince George Kodiaks junior team he landed some big fish.

They will be in on the field in Prince George May 27-29 for the Kodiaks’ spring camp at Masich Place Stadium.

You might have heard of DeVone Claybrooks, head coach of the B.C. Lions in 2019, a defensive tackle who played for seven NFL teams before landing in the CFL with Montreal and Calgary. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002.

“DeVone Claybrooks was the head coach of the Lions before coach (Rick) Campbell and he was the defensive co-ordinator for the Stampeders for a while,” said Raymond. “I played with him for a few years in Calgary and played against him when he was in Montreal. He’s a Super Bowl winner with Tampa Bay and he’s going to be helping our defensive line.”

Brandon Smith, a CFL all-star defensive back and former teammate of Raymond’s who helped the Calgary Stamps win the Grey Cup in 2008, 2014 and 2018, is coming to P.G. to teach the defensive secondary.

The list of guest coaches for the spring camp includes two-time CFL champion Sedderick Cunningham (a former wide receiver for Green Bay, Edmonton, Calgary; Milton Collins, a defensive back who played in the CFL for Calgary, Hamilton and Saskatchewan; James Green, a Langley native who suited up at linebacker for Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Ottawa; and Ricky Foley, who played defensive end for Baltimore, Seattle, New York Jets and four CFL teams, including the Lions.

“They just want the opportunity to give back and help promote a new program,” said Raymond. “Just that level of knowledge and experience that they have, our guys are going to be blessed with that type of roster. For them to come in and bless us with their time and energy in a city where football hasn’t been a big focal point, we have the opportunity to make it a big focal point by bringing guys like that in.”

Also on side with the Kodiaks on a more permanent basis is two-time CFL all-star linebacker Marvin Pope, hired in January as the Kodiaks’ defensive co-ordinator. Pope is a former Calgary Stampeder teammate of Raymond’s who helped the Stamps win the Cup in 1992.  

Cunningham will also stick around throughout the season as the wide receivers/pass game co-ordinator coach for the Kodiaks, while Collins will serve as the defensive back coach.

Close to 100 players from all over Canada are expected for the spring camp. The players will go through drills and conditioning activities for the first two days, then will separate into two teams for a Sunday (May 29) afternoon scrimmage that starts at 1 p.m.

Kodiaks general manager Ryan Bellamy has been busy with Raymond talking to graduating high school players and junior-aged (19-22) players all over Western Canada to invite them to the camp.

“When these young guys come into town, I know how open the community is for these new guys, showing them love and hospitality, these guys won’t mind if you invite them to dinner,” said Raymond. “Let them know how important it is and how big community and family is in the city of Prince George.

The community-owned Kodiaks are the 19th franchise in the Canadian Junior Football League and they are joining the B.C. Junior Football Conference this season as an expansion franchise to form a seven-team league. Their first game is on Saturday, July 23 in Chilliwack.

With 80 spots up for grabs on a Kodiaks team that has yet to play a down, the opportunity is wide-open for players who aspire to move on to U SPORTS university football and the CFL.

“What we have to offer that other (junior) teams don’t is the opportunity to play right away,” said Raymond. “For a kid who chooses to play in Prince George you get a chance to cement a foundation on a legacy, to say I was the first, and not many kids get an opportunity to do something like that.

“When they come to play for us, we’re going to be the hot ticket in town, the place to be on a Saturday night in northern B.C. We’re going to feel like a small Texas town because I’m calling everyone to come out in a sellout crowd and the town’s going to shut down on Saturday night to watch us play.”

The Kodiaks held regular workout sessions through the winter at the Northern Sport Centre to get 45 local players on board with conditioning and skill development drills and ex-pros Angus Reid and J.R. Larose helped out with skill session on the fieldhouse.

“We want this thing to be successful,” said Raymond. “Everybody gets a chance to put on football equipment and anybody can do that, but for us to be a team we have to build a culture of accountability. These guys have taken hold of it and I’m surprised, and I’m not.

“The local coaches I’ve got in town have done a tremendous job. Sean Yeulet played at University of Calgary; we’ve got Brad Paakkonen, one of our o-line coaches, who played a bunch of junior football; we’ve got Cam Brown from Vanderhoof - these guys are just excited for this opportunity to be involved in some elite football and bringing the community together.”

Pope, Ken Hocker, Scot Stoughton and Nick Pankhurst have also been beating the bushes looking for junior football recruits.

CJFL teams play Canadian rules on a Canadian field and that will be take some getting used to for Prince George high school players who grew up with American rules to conform to other team in the B.C. High School Football Association. B.C. is the only province that plays four-down high school football.

“That’s been one of the biggest challenges, especially with local kids, is teaching them the Canadian game,” said Raymond. “The kids out of province, they know because they play the Canadian game. Teaching the local kids the waggle (receivers in motion towards the line of scrimmage before the ball gets snapped) and the extra man on the field, we used a lot of our time this winter and this off-season teaching the kids around here that.”

The team launched its Kodiaks Kickoff 50-50 draw a few weeks ago, which has a guaranteed minimum payoff of $100,000. If ticket sales max out, the winner will receive a cool $1 million. The draw will be made at the Kodiaks home-opener against the Kamloops Broncos on Saturday, Aug. 6 at Masich Place Stadium.

Kodiaks season tickets are available at at $85 each.