Schoen shines at Bombers training camp

Dalton Schoen’s eyes fell to the ground momentarily as he pondered the lighthearted question.

“Who was the happiest to see you back out there?” a member of the media wondered.

When Schoen lifted his head to answer, his eyes were drawn to an eavesdropping Willie Jefferson, who was smiling with his hand high in the air behind the scrum of media surrounding the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ star receiver.

“I got a lot of love from a lot of guys,” said a grinning Schoen, who logged his second consecutive full participation in practice Tuesday after being sidelined for 11 months with a knee injury.

“I think the happiest out here was me. Just to be back out here with the guys again, get to run around and play ball.”

There’s no doubt Schoen was missed.

The 6-1, 218-pound pass-catcher’s absence had one of the single greatest impacts on any team last season. The Bombers’ offence was nowhere close to the same without him, and as much as the “next man up” mentality is preached, there simply was no replacing the two-time league all-star.

Winnipeg’s offence was the third-worst unit in three-down football last season, while quarterback Zach Collaros had his lowest touchdown total in four years (17) and matched a career-high in interceptions (15).

“On a personal level, I was devastated for him, and devastated for the team,” Collaros said Monday. “Just again, what he means to the offence. What goes into the off-season, we all understand, but I know how hard he works. And he had an injury before, that year, too, with his foot, so how hard he had worked to get back and be full go, and then just the second or third game of the season, be told the season is going to end, I’ve been in those shoes before and it’s not a great feeling.”

Collaros suffered the same injury as Schoen, a torn ACL, in 2015.

“So I was devastated for him, and obviously, selfishly for myself, because he meant and does mean so much to our team,” he added.

The plan was always for Schoen to return during training camp, but there were daily physical and mental hoops he had to jump through to get here. He couldn’t help but laugh when describing the amount of work it took to get back on the field, an arduous process that started in Week 4 of last season.

“I think the happiest out here was me. Just to be back out here with the guys again, get to run around and play ball.”–Dalton Schoen

“You got to laugh it off, but it really is the worst,” Schoen said.

“A lot of it is a mental grind, especially those early days. It’s isolating. People don’t really realize that when you’re in that long-term injured group, the (non-injured) guys are going to meetings, you’re going to rehab. The guys are going out to the field for a walkthrough, you’re doing your lift in the training room, and then you can come out and watch practice. But you’re just on a completely different schedule.

“And so it’s hard when you’re not around the guys you’re always around, or not on the same schedule that you’re used to being on.”

Most of Schoen’s days were spent with defensive tackle Cam Lawson and defensive back Jamal Parker Jr., who were also shelved with ACL injuries sustained during the pre-season.

Parker spoke earlier in camp about how beneficial it was to have two other people going through the same battle every day, and Schoen echoed those sentiments.

“It’s the people around you that kind of boost your spirits,” he said. “And then as you get further along in the process and your body’s healing, starting to feel better, then you can try to help out other guys where you can. Maybe sit in there, watch film with the quarterbacks, or watch film with the receivers and say, ‘Hey, if I saw this, I’d run it like that,’ or whatever, just to try to contribute in any way you can.

“But at the end of the day, just to show up and know it’s still a great opportunity to work, whether you’re out there or not. You got your job to do.”

Time alone left plenty of opportunity for the 27-year-old to gain perspective. He enters training camp with a fresh view on the opportunity to play football every day.

“Guys — and I’m guilty of this myself — are quick to complain about the grind of training camp or the grind of practices, and then the second you’re gone, you’re like, ‘Man, I’d give anything for that right now,’ he said.

“And so it’s hard when you’re not around the guys you’re always around, or not on the same schedule that you’re used to being on.”–Dalton Schoen

“And so it does kind of put things in perspective, right? And you’re like, ‘Man, what was I complaining about before?’ So, yeah, you definitely take it for granted, and then the second it’s gone, you regret it pretty quickly.”

Schoen mostly worked with the third-team offence on Monday and with the second-team offence on Tuesday, as the coaching staff slowly incorporates him back into the starting group. During his first day back, he ran a deep corner route toward the left sideline, spinning and high-pointing the ball near the white chalk before getting his feet down in bounds.

It’s been the fourth-year receiver’s signature play since arriving in Winnipeg. The only thing missing was Collaros throwing it to him, but it won’t be long before they connect on one of those.

“It was good to be out here in general, but then to connect on a deeper corner ball — kind of been some of my bread and butter up here over the last few years — it’s good,” Schoen said.

“It feels like I’m back.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca