VANCOUVER – Head coach Rich Campbell was confident Vernon Adams Jr. will start against the Edmonton Eskimos, but the B.C. Lions quarterback was a little more guarded about his health.
Adams practiced Monday, but missed Tuesday’s workout with an abdominal injury. At the time his status was listed as questionable for when the Lions (2-1) face the Elks (0-3) Thursday at BC Place Stadium to open Week 4 of the CFL season.
“He’s been playing awesome for us. We’re obviously happy that VA is ready to go.”
Adams, who is listed as the starter on the Lions depth chart, was more cautious.
“I feel good today,” he said. “I woke up feeling better.
“We’re going to see how we feel tomorrow.”
“We’ll see when I wake up tomorrow but feeling better today,” he said.
After three games this season Adams has completed 63-of-95 passes for a CFL-leading 1,038 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Jake Dolegala is Adams’ backup.
One player expecting to see some extra attention from the Elks is Lions wide receiver Alexander Hollins.
Hollins scorched the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for 215 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches in a nail-biting 26-24 victory last week.
“Attention? I love attention,” said the six-foot, 175-pound speedster from Yazoo City, Miss.
Hollins grabbed everyone’s attention when he hauled in a 71-yard touchdown pass from Adams on BC’s fourth offensive play of the game against Winnipeg. He later caught a 29-yeard touchdown.
A big play early fires up both the offence and defence, said Hollins.
“It helps a lot,” he said. “It makes the defence work even harder to try to get the ball back.
“Everything is just high energy, cheering each other on, working hard. The more big plays everyone is making, the more plans we want to make as a unit.”
After being named the CFL’s top receiver for Week 3, Hollins was asked if he could rake in even more yards against the winless Elks.
“It’s not a goal of mine to try to get a certain amount,” he said. “I just try to get open, catch the ball, get first downs, make plays for the team.”
Adams said Hollins has the ability to be where he’s most needed.
“He’s being him, the playmaker he is,” said Adams. “When the ball finds him, he’s going to make a play.”
Hollins leads the league with 402 yards and three touchdowns on 23 catches. Teammate Justin McInnis is third with 17 catches for 340 yards and two touchdowns.
Running back William Stanback, who signed with the Lions this winter after helping the Montreal Alouettes win the Grey Cup last year, is the league’s top rusher with 187 yards on 42 carries.
It’s a quick turnaround for the Elks, who are coming off a heart-breaking 39-36 loss against the Argonauts in Toronto Saturday. It was the second time in two weeks Edmonton lost by three points.
“It’s not like we’ve played poor football,” said Chris Jones, Edmonton’s head coach and general manager. “We’ve unfortunately lost three games and it comes down to that one or two plays that we’ve got to learn to make.
“When we do, we’re going to have a lot of success.”
Campbell said the Elks are a better than then their record.
“They are a good team,” he said. “They have good players. We’re not getting caught up in their record. We expect it will be a close game again.”
The Lions will also be without Canadian linebacker Ben Hladik, who has a thumb injury. Hladik, who leads the CFL with 25 tackles, will be replaced by Bo Lokombo.
