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“The biggest thing is the guys on our staff are very close,” said Chiu. “Most of us played against each other so it’s like a locker-room mentality. We can joke and have fun but when Clay speaks, he’s the boss. We owe it to him to make sure we’re doing our job because he gave us a job.”

• Gerardo Alvarez, one of three Mexican nationals trying out for the Lions this season, drew a huge cheer from his teammates when he caught a long pass from backup quarterback Ricky Lloyd in Tuesday’s morning practice.

“It was awesome,” Alvarez said. “I was against Garry Peters. He’s a great player. To catch that ball makes me feel so good. That’s my best experience at this training camp.”

Alvarez, a 31-year-old receiver with 4.5 speed, is joined in Kamloops by receiver Fernando Richarte and defensive lineman Octavio Gonzales. As part of the new CBA, CFL teams can keep one international player who doesn’t count against the salary cap.

“First of all, we want to stay here,” said Alvarez. “We want to make the final roster. If we don’t stay here we’ll share this experience with our league.”

• Defensive halfback Aaron Grymes signed with the Lions as a free agent this off-season and will team up with T.J. Lee in the Lions’ secondary. Twenty years ago the pair first met as teammates on their youth football team when a seven-year-old Grymes was the QB and seven-year-old Lee was the running back.

“Actually, I just handed him the ball and blocked for him,” Grymes said.

“I’ve got my best friend on the team and that makes things easier,” said Lee.

Grymes and Lee, in fact, are both godfathers to each other’s daughters. They played together through high school before Grymes left for Idaho and Lee attended Eastern Washington.

Both have been named CFL all-stars, Grymes with the Eskimos in 2015 and Lee with the Lions last season.

“We’ve always been close on-and-off the field,” said Lee. “It’s awesome when you have someone who matches your work ethic and intensity. I don’t feel as much pressure now that I have another veteran DB back there.”