Grant’s punt return touchdown breaks open close game

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/06/2023 (843 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA — First came the physical roller-coaster ride that was his 90-yard punt return touchdown, a run for the ages that is as electrifying as you’ll see in the CFL. Then came an emotional obstacle course, as he sat on the sidelines trying to catch his breath while waiting to see if his incredible score would stand.

Just another night at the office for Janarion Grant?

“Oh man, it was crazy,” the Winnipeg Blue Bombers human highlight reel said outside the team’s locker room at Mosaic Stadium following a wild 45-27 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. “I had to make one move, then bounce back, then seen a couple guys so I also had to make a few stiff arms. Once I hit the sideline it was just go from there. My teammates just got me into the end-zone, so I appreciate those guys.”

Words don’t really do it justice as Grant broke tackle after tackle while cutting back and forth and ultimately just staying in bounds.

“Awesome,” said coach Mike O’Shea, who isn’t prone to hyperbole. “I mean, what a return.”

O’Shea knows special when he sees it, which is why he tossed the challenge flag after officials called an illegal block penalty on the Blue & Gold which, for a moment, looked like it was going to render Grant’s third-quarter score all for naught.

“I wasn’t sure,” Grant said of his thoughts during the video review. “I went back and reviewed it on my iPad to see if it was a clean block. I think it was. I was just waiting to see how they viewed it up top. It was just waiting and seeing how it turns out.”

All the while, Grant sat on the bench clutching the football. He wasn’t giving it up.

“I just gotta make it memorable, make sure to collect everything I can,” he said of the souvenir.

The touchdown broke open a close game in the third quarter, giving the Bombers a 10-point cushion. And Grant, the 29-year-old Florida product, had his teammates nearly speechless.

Are you kidding me?!? 🤯

What an effort for the score!#CFLGameday | @Wpg_BlueBombers pic.twitter.com/tgA8OoBZWt

— CFL (@CFL) June 17, 2023

 

“I think he stiff-armed the entire unit,” joked quarterback Zach Collaros. “We’re just sitting there going ‘Oh, another one. He might score.” The fact he still had something left in the tank at the end, that he had the wherewithal to cut back. It was just an unbelievable effort by the entire unit.”

Receiver Dalton Schoen said he nearly had to dive for cover as Grant was flirting with the sideline near the Bombers bench, trying to evade a swarm of Roughriders pursuers.

“It was stiff arms — one, two, three. I was like, I need to move on the sideline because they’re going to run into me, and he somehow turned that corner and I was like, this is incredible,” said Schoen. “Credit to J-Dog. That was an incredible return. Also a credit to all those blockers out there. I know guys are fighting to make plays for him, too, so it’s a group effort.”

O’Shea said the fact Grant, who stands just five-foot-nine and weighs in at 157 pounds, can be such a dynamic force is a testament to him.

“I don’t know where it ranks (among best-ever returns). I know that Janarion is really, really good. And all his teammates really appreciate not just his talent, but his toughness, too,” said O’Shea. “There are (returns) that don’t look like that, and he maximizes the yardage by powering through contact. If you haven’t noticed, he’s not an overly large human being. I think our guys they like everything about him.”

Grant said he fielded Adam Korsack’s kick at his own 20-yard line with the same idea he has every time the ball comes his way — he’s planning to take it to the house.

”Most definitely. That’s always my motto, that’s always in my mind,” he said. “And I’ve got my teammates to help me do it. That’s what I always try to do. Try to put our offence in the best field position possible.

Or, in some cases, not have the offence take the field at all.

Grant played college football at Rutgers, then signed with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens for the 2018 season after going undrafted. This is Grant’s fourth year in Winnipeg. According to CFL stats, Grant has now returned seven punts for touchdowns (his longest is 94 yards), and one kickoff (for 97 yards).

He was asked to rank where this one might stand on a personal level. His answer should send a chill up the collective backs of all future CFL opponents this season.

“I’m not sure. It’s still early in the season, I still have a lot more to play,” said Grant. “But right now, I’m just going to say I have more to come.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg