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Lulay wants to take next step with Lions

He played a big role in the B.C. Lions getting back on their feet this season. Now quarterback Travis Lulay is excited about the chance to help the CFL team take the next step.
Travis Lulay
B.C. Lions quarterback Travis Lulay.

SURREY, B.C. — He played a big role in the B.C. Lions getting back on their feet this season. Now quarterback Travis Lulay is excited about the chance to help the CFL team take the next step.

Lulay has agreed to a new contract which will keep him with the Lions through the 2012 campaign. It’s good news for a team that looked sunk after a 1-7 start but battled back to make the playoffs when Lulay took over the helm.

“That’s what exciting, knowing we have the opportunity to really step back to the plate where we left off,” a smiling Lulay told reporters Monday at the Lions’ practice facility. “It was tough when the season ended, feeling that this team was just getting on its feet and really getting the wheels going a little bit.

“It ended so quickly. That’s what is so exciting heading forward.”

Lulay started the season as B.C.’s backup quarterback behind Casey Printers. When Printers was released in October, Lulay took over a team that was 5-9 and had no where to go but up.

With Lulay at quarterback the Lions won their final three games before suffering a 41-38 nail-biting overtime loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West semifinal.

Lulay completed 28-of-49 passes for 357 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in his first playoff start.

Overall Lulay is 4-6 in the 10 games he started for B.C. this year.

The 27-year-old from Salem, Ore., understands the increased expectations he will face next season, especially with Vancouver hosting the Grey Cup in November.

“The big thing is not taking a step back year in the year,” he said. “To be able to start where we left off and grow from that point.

“Towards the end of the year we learned to finish games. From that standpoint we were a lot different team at the end of the year than we were at the beginning. For us to progress to the next level, being able to win those playoff games instead of just coming close, that’s the next step.”

Wally Buono, the Lions coach and general manager, said Lulay not only has the physical skills a quarterback needs, he also has the confidence and leadership a football team feeds on.

“The quarterback has to be the leader of your football club,” said Buono.

“This year, you saw the growth from the first couple of games, then to the end to where no stage was too big or no situation was such he couldn’t show the composure and the presence it takes to be a great quarterback.”

In just his second year with the Lions, Lulay demonstrated the poise of a veteran while showing the potential to improve with experience.

He completed 205-of-318 passes for 2,602 yards, nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Big and strong at six-foot-two and 216 pounds, Lulay used his mobility to escape potential sacks and buy more time to throw the ball. He rushed 62 times for 396 yards and three touchdowns.

There were some growing pains. Like a lot of young quarterbacks, Lulay sometimes tried to do too much. Early in the year he threw some late interceptions that cost B.C. games.

Jacques Chapdelaine said that’s part of a quarterback’s learning curve.

“When things got a little tight towards the end of the game, maybe he was pressing a little bit,” said Chapdelaine. “Maybe that’s a confidence issue.

“Maybe it’s understanding he is not the one who is going to single-handedly win the game for us. But he is going to be the one to decide who is going to do that for us.”

Lulay’s contract is for next year and the Lions have a team option for 2012. The deal is believed to be worth around $250,000 a season.

Buono said both sides are happy with the short term of the package.

“The term of the contract is good for me, it’s good for the B.C. Lions and it’s good for Travis,” said Buono. “We don’t want to go further than 2011.

“It’s not like there isn’t a future for him (Lulay) here. There is. When you negotiate a contract you have to leave some options open.”

Lulay wouldn’t rule out giving the NFL another chance.

“I wouldn’t say that is my goal,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I’m using Canada as a stepping stone to get back in the NFL.

“If we felt things had been accomplished here, that’s a time to sit back and evaluate that thought.”

Lulay is an easygoing person who usually wears a big smile. He’s married and is a big Toby Keith fan.

He signed with the Lions as a free agent in 2009 after stints in the NFL and NFL Europe. He appeared in 16 games in 2009, mostly in relief, and completed 22-of-36 passes for 324 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Knowing he will go to training camp as the starting quarterback will help make the winter shorter for Lulay.

“This is the first time in my professional career I felt invested in an organization and a team,” he said.

“For me it’s an exciting thing.”