Rifles receiver born to run

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This article was published 21/08/2023 (1013 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Roy Tambal Musa had never played football before.

The only experience, if you can call it that, he had was from watching clips of NFL receivers on YouTube and replicating their moves in his backyard.

But Tambal Musa, who was born in war-torn Sudan and fled to Uganda with his family when he was nine years old, was determined to find his way onto the gridiron.

In 2021, just two years after the Tambal Musa’s immigrated to Morris, he reached out to Geordie Wilson — the head coach of the Winnipeg Rifles of the Canadian Junior Football League. Tambal Musa grew up playing rugby in Africa, and was playing the sport for Team Manitoba with Rifles quarterback Thomas Hubbard.

Hubbard recommended his new friend try his luck with the Rifles.

“I just saw the opportunity that football can provide for my family. Honestly, I owe them a lot,” Tambal Musa, 21, told the Free Press.

“Since I was a child, they were babying me, all the supplies they got for me, the clothes, the food, the housing, so it doesn’t sit right with me for my parents to keep working when I can do something where I can use my God-gifted ability to retire them. They’ve gone through a lot and my parents have already done enough.”

Wilson agreed to give Tambal Musa a shot. It didn’t take long to realize he had an extremely raw prospect on his hands.

“He couldn’t catch. You tried to get him to catch but he’d catch two out of every 10 passes thrown to him,” said Wilson.

But Tambal Musa wasn’t discouraged. He kept making the hour long drive into the city from Morris and slowly got better and better. He also possessed a trait that can’t be taught: speed.

“I told him at the end of his first year ‘You know, you’re going to be an all-Canadian as a receiver or as a returner. I can just feel it.’ The guy’s got a God-given speed,” said Wilson.

“You could see he was extremely quick and fast. He can change directions at full speed like not many people on the face of the earth can, to be perfectly honest with you. He’s a legitimate 4.4 speed on a 40 (yard dash).”

“And he always has a smile on his face. He’s always a happy kid.”

The 5-8, 140-pounder spent the last two seasons learning the game and working on his craft. This year, he wasted no time showing he’s ready. He started Week 1’s 20-16 road win over the Edmonton Huskies at kick returner and scored a 90-yard touchdown. He was named the Prairie Football Conference’s special teams player of the week.

Tambal Musa wasn’t able to build off of that performance in Week 2 as an ankle injury kept him out of Sunday’s 49-0 loss to the visiting Saskatoon Hilltops.

“It really meant a lot to me. I’m sad it was an away game and that my parents (mom Hwida and dad Tambal Basha) couldn’t watch it live. I really wanted them to see it live, but the joy I felt in my heart after beating the kicker and crossing the line was something new to me,” said Tambal Musa.

“When I scored, I was like ‘Oh, this is really what touchdowns feel like, huh.’ It was an experience I’ve never experienced before. I would say I was really happy about it and that just made me more confident in myself. It made me feel like I’m really ready for this league now.”

While fast, Tambal Musa’s putting in the time to get even faster. He joined the University of Manitoba’s track team as a sprinter last year — despite never participating in athletics before — with the sole intention of helping him in football. He ended up running at nationals on the school’s 4 x 200 relay team, and competed at the Canada West championships in the 300-metre dash.

“At the end of the day, a lot of people say speed kills,” said Tambal Musa.

He has another three years of CJFL eligibility left, and if a CFL opportunity doesn’t present itself after that, he hopes to land with a U Sports program. While his goals may be lofty, Wilson doesn’t think they’re unreasonable.

“He’s our version of Bombers returner Janarion Grant. Janarion Grant is a small guy, too. He’s not big. So, he’s our Janarion Grant. So, can he play pro football? It’s certainly possible,” said Wilson.

“The thing is, he’s improved dramatically every year… Roy’s never gonna be big, but could he potentially be a punt returner in the CFL? Yeah, he could. He has to get more consistent at catching the ball.”

Whether he makes it to the pro stage or not, Tambal Musa is enjoying the journey and is thankful for the opportunity he has in a new country.

“It’s a love for the game, to be honest,” he said.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31