They’ve built a solid roster they believe can challenge for a Grey Cup and are bringing a group of players to training camp to intensely compete for every last depth position.

Such is their talent after a few successful CFL drafts and strong off-season recruiting down south that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers believe there will be difficult decisions in picking the backups to the backups for this year’s squad.

That extends to the quarterback position, where the Bombers have an established starter in Matt Nichols, an experienced backup in Dan LeFevour and a protégé they’ve been grooming for a few years in Dom Davis.

So where, exactly, do recent signings Malcolm Bell from North Carolina Central University and Austin Apodaca from the University of New Mexico fit in?

Only one of them is likely going to spend the season on the roster as the Bombers fourth quarterback, so even that promises to be a hard-fought-for position in 2017.

“All I’ve been told is I’ve got to learn the playbook really fast and I have to go out and shine,” Bell says. “I’ve got to go out and perform at rookie camp and be the fourth guy.”

The Bombers three-day rookie camp starts Wednesday and there will be five under-contract quarterbacks on the field. The pre-main camp practice time will be far more important to Bell and Apodaca than any of the other pivots.

Bell already looks at this as a second chance with the Bombers.

He was offered a contract by the team in late April, along with an invitation to the team’s mini-camp, but he rejected it in hopes of landing an NFL deal.

Despite going through two pro days and a quarterback showcase in front of all 32 NFL teams, Bell was not drafted, nor signed to a free agent deal.

He spent the next two weeks hoping the Bombers were still interested and finally got the call on May 16.

“I was scared that Winnipeg might not offer me another contract because I rejected the first one,” Bell says. “It was a pretty stressful process. I was praying a lot, wishing that I’d get a contract and there wasn’t another guy that got it over me.”

Once he got the deal, Bell had to face the reality that there’s another young quarterback coming to camp as well and his work is just beginning in terms of getting an invitation to main camp.

“Competition has always been my thing,” Bell says. “I’ve always performed strong in those types of situations. Back in 2014 at my college, a new coaching staff came in and they brought their own guys and I had to win some battles. It was pretty hyped up by the newspapers so I’m pretty used to having to compete. I’ve never been given something, I’ve always had to earn it, so that’s where my mentality is.”

Though the Bombers list 23-year-old Bell as being 6-foot-1, 190-pounds, he says he’s actually 5-foot-11, which is small for the quarterback position.

Apodaca, 23, is 6-foot-3, 212 pounds and more of a pure pocket passer. He was under-utilized in the run-happy New Mexico offence, throwing for 1,377 yards over two seasons, but is said to have a strong arm and a gunslinger mentality.

On the other hand, Bell started out as a runner who evolved into one of the top throwers in NCCU history.

“I can do it all,” Bell says. “That’s kind of a broad statement but when my team needs me to sit back and pass, I’m a pretty accurate passer and I can throw the ball with touch and velocity, whatever is needed. Early in my college career I was more of a runner, so a lot of people will say ‘He’s a scramble-first guy,’ but over the years I proved everybody wrong. If I have to run, I will. I’m a pretty good runner but at the same time I can pass with the best of them so put all that together and you have me.”

If that sounds like a lot of other CFL quarterbacks, it should.

There’s one CFL quarterback in particular that Bell compares himself to — Darian Durant, who went to the University of North Carolina just down the road from Bell in Chapel Hill.

“I have been watching him,” Bell says. “Him being from UNC and North Carolina, 15 minutes away from my school, you hear his name. He’s 5-foot-11, a shorter guy, he’s been really successful, a legendary quarterback in the CFL. Somebody that was really mobile in college and went up to the CFL and developed as a passer. I started to watch him first.”

Bell went 24-10 as the starter at NCCU and threw for 6,340 yards and 42 touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,504 yards and 20 touchdowns. He led the Eagles to Div. I Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

“The accolades and the three straight championships don’t really translate to the pros,” Bell says. “You have to prove yourself once again. What you can take to the next level is the swagger that you used to have and the mentality that you have during games and at practice and the overall self-motivation.

“I’m anxious to just go up there and learn the playbook and see how things are run so I can show my talents.”

BOMBERS ROOKIE CAMP

Schedule

Wednesday, May 24

(At Subway Soccer South, University of Manitoba)

Practice: 3-4:45 p.m.

Thursday, May 25

(At Investors Group Field)

Practice: 10:15 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Friday, May 26

(At Investors Group Field)

Practice: 10:15 a.m.-11:55 a.m.