Practice. Eat. Rest. Lift. Meet.

Repeat.

With yet another two-a-day practice schedule on Thursday, the Stamps are digging deep in order to keep up with the daily grind of training camp.

Defensive back Joshua Bell, a fourth-year Stampeder and six-year CFL veteran, has been keeping a close eye on how the Red and White have been holding up as they prepare for the 2017 season.

“We are continuing to grow, we are continuing to get better,” offered Bell on Day 5 of camp. “It is a new year and we are growing and that is the most important thing. We started the first couple days looking a little rough and we got better the next two days. Then the training camp wall kind of hit us but we kind of bounced back from that today.”

Patrolling the back end of the defence from his usual safety position, the former West Division all-star has been impressed thus far with the play of several fellow members of the secondary.

In particular, 2016 rookie Osagie Odiase, 2017 draft pick Tunde Adeleke and off-season free-agent signee Trenton Coles have attracted the attention of Bell.

“Osagie has kind of surprised me,” the ex-Baylor Bear began. “He’s been making plays and kind of getting in his groove. I knew he could play, but for him to step in with the (first unit), he’s made some plays. Tunde looks like he’s about to get me cut so I’ve got to come with my A-game every day because he knows his X’s and O’s and he’s in the playbook. He doesn’t make any mental errors. He’s got young legs and he’s looked pretty good. T-Coles has got a little burst and a little speed. He’s kind of like Tommie Campbell. I can’t wait until Tommie gets back so we can see who is the fastest.”

As for how Bell handles his abbreviated stretches of down-time these days, he makes sure to hit the weight room in order to remain in peak physical condition. He also keeps in touch with his wife and two young children who are back home in Dallas.

“We do Body by Bell in between practices, we do sibling rivalry stuff, we eat,” listed No. 11. “We have ridiculous conversations on nothing about football. We FaceTime with family, stuff like that.”

Once the season kicks off and the game schedule gets underway, Bell is confident that the long hours will pay off. Calgary finished either first or second in fewest points allowed, sacks, forced fumbles and pass knockdowns last year, but some wise words from the 32-year-old leader would suggest that the unit can still get better.

“There is no ceiling,” said Bell with a smirk. “You can have whatever you want to have, you just have to be together and be locked in together. Everybody’s got to stay hungry at the same time and we can achieve greatness.”