Not everyone in Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp has had the good fortune of hearing their name called out on draft night or had teams pestering them like paparazzi with a free agent contract and a blank cheque in each hand.

We give you, as an example, receiver Ryan Lankford.

Now, some Canadian Football League diehards will recognize Lankford’s name; he spent parts of the last two seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and suited up for eight games last year, pulling in 19 passes for 165 yards before being released in late October.

And then his phone went silent.

His agent sent his highlight tape out to teams all over the pro-football map, and still nothing. So Lankford did next what many desperate to chase their dream do: he drove six hours from his home in Jacksonville to a Blue Bombers free agent camp in Miami this January, plunked down $100 bucks to participate, laced up his cleats and got to work.

“The whole CFL experience can be humbling,” said the well-spoken 25-year-old, who was signed not long after that camp. “You come from college where you are ‘The Guy’ and everyone thinks they are going to play in the NFL for 15 years, get a pension, be a millionaire, get a huge house, a wife and kids… everything. It doesn’t always work out that way.”

“But ball is ball and it’s a blessing to be at this age, still playing a kid’s game and get paid for it. It’s a blessing and it’s humbling because it could be gone at any second, in a moment.”

“I could have driven down to Miami that day and camp might have been full. Then I’d be driving back to Jacksonville without a tryout. That’s why you have to take every day for what it is and enjoy and embrace the opportunity.”

That’s a honest take that comes from experience, both his own and from within his family. Lankford has had pro stints with the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, the Roughriders and now the Bombers.

And, oh yeah, there’s this: his father, Paul Lankford, spent 10 seasons – 1982-1992 – playing cornerback with the Dolphins.

“I know how the business works,” said Lankford. “I tell people that once you get to college, that’s when the business of football starts. It’s no longer, ‘Johnny’s dad is the coach so Johnny is going to play.’ You’ve got to go out there knowing your stuff and you’ve got to be talented enough to come out here every day and grind through stuff, grind through the little nicks and push yourself to see how far you can get.”

That deep understanding also means he knows how big Saturday night’s preseason game in Saskatchewan can be for his career. Don’t try telling him, then, that this is just a ‘meaningless’ exhibition game.

It could mean everything.

“I can be very hard on myself,” Lankford said. “I’m trying to be the best player I can be. I’m trying to be perfect every day, as unrealistic as that is. Sometimes I need to take a look in the mirror and understand I’m going to have some down days and you’ve got to respond. That’s what I’ve learned the most from my parents: it’s how you respond.

“I think I’ve done a good job, but these 11-12 practices don’t mean anything if you don’t make plays in the preseason and do the little things, my 1/12^th of each play.

“I’ve got to make a name for myself, I’ve got to make some plays out there. I’m excited. This is why we play the game.”

BOMBERS TRAINING CAMP – DAY 12

Checking out the new joint: Bombers QB Matt Nichols wouldn’t tip his hand as to how much work he might get Saturday night in Regina at the new Mosaic Stadium, but he will be one of the players who makes the trip.

“I hope we win the football game,” said Nichols, when asked what he hoped to accomplish this weekend. “We don’t play these games just to play them… we’re going to try and win.

“It’s getting some of these young guys some action and for some of the vets it’s knocking off the rust and getting against a different colour jersey. This is to get you prepared for the first game of the season and get some things ironed out and work on some situations it’s hard to work on in practice.

“It’s throwing some of the guys in the deep end and see who can swim.”

Nichols said he wanted to be in Regina to get a feel for the atmosphere so that when the Bombers return there for their season opener on Canada Day, it won’t feel foreign.

“It’ll just be nice, even in terms of coming from the hotel to the stadium, finding the locker room… it will be nice for us to show up for Week 1 and already know the routine and not be scrambling to find out where you are even going. It’s about getting more of a familiarity with it before we even go to play a real game there.”

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said a decision on how much time Nichols would play Saturday would be made Thursday night. That said, the club needs to get a read on the rest of the depth chart behind him – with Dom Davis and Dan LeFevour battling for the No. 2 job and Austin Apodaca eager to show off his gun – and so if Nichols plays at all, his reps might be limited.

“I really don’t know at all,” said Nichols. “I know I’m travelling and I’ll be there and if they let me play the whole game, I’ll play the whole game. And if I’m not playing at all, I’ll be there for the other guys. Whatever they allow me to do, I’ll be ready to go in and try to throw touchdowns.”

D-Day for Dom Davis: A lot of eyeballs will be on Davis as he attempts to fulfill some of the promise Bombers management sees in him. He joined the Bombers after training camp in 2015, started the last regular season game that year but did not throw a single pass in 2016.

“Like I’ve been saying since my first year here: I’ve been patient this long, the only thing I can do now is keep being patient until my number’s called,” Davis said Thursday.

Davis indicated he’s learned a lot from working alongside Nichols since the veteran’s arrival midway through the ’15 season. And he feels he’s grown in the past couple of years, too.

Here’s his response when asked where he feels he’s grown the most:

“Everything. Being a better teammate in the locker room, being a better leader on the field, recognizing coverages, being comfortable in this offence, and just knowing the coaches and letting those coaches know me. I feel like from my first year to now is night and day.”

His boss, it turns out, concurs.

“He’s gotten better and better and better,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “He sees the field well, he makes good decisions. He’s throwing the ball deep when he has opportunities. I think early on he’d look to the check-down more and now he’s seeing better and making great decisions.”

Ouch update: Not practising on Thursday were LB Maurice Leggett, DB Kevin Fogg, WR Addison Richards, DT Ian Marouf, WR Matt Coates and DB Abu Conteh.

Blue notes: Winnipeg Rifles safety Andrew Ricard picked off a pass Thursday morning, prompting shout-outs from his defensive teammates. The vets have come to call Ricard ‘Junior’… Both Julian Feoli-Gudino and Derek Yachison made catches in traffic in the morning… Matt Smalley, T.J. Lowder and Kendall Roberson were handling most of the kickoffs – done by draft pick Félix Ménard-Brière – at the last full workout… The Bombers will have a brief walk-through Friday morning at the Subway South Soccer Complex before taking a charter to Regina later in the day.