The Leos finished last in most ground game categories last season, but CFL sophomore James Butler comes into this season with confidence.
James Butler is all smiles at his first Lions training camp in Kamloops last summer. ‘Towards the end of the year, we just kind of figured out the run game and knew what we were good at,’ Butler says of the 2021 season.Michael Reilly, at one point late in the 2021 Canadian Football League season, was the B.C. Lions’ leading rusher.Article content
The toothless attack had roots in a variety of ailments. The Lions were pass-happy due to falling behind early in games and the amount of distance they had to drive in games. Their average starting position of 34.2 was eighth out of nine teams. “But we did run the ball when we needed to towards the end of the year. I felt as the year went on, I was starting to get a lot more comfortable back there and I felt like the coaching staff had a lot more confidence in me running the ball, and I thought that it showed.”Article content
James Butler celebrates after reaching the end zone in Montreal against the Alouettes during a September game last season.Continuity on the offensive line is big, but it’s also big personally for the player his own website called “