Cruickshank ready to fill Grant’s shoes, and then some

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This article was published 08/05/2024 (489 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Training camp is here and one of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ most dangerous weapons is still a free agent.

That would be the franchise’s all-time kick return touchdown leader, Janarion Grant.

What’s up with that?

“He’s a very good returner. He’s been very successful for us and he’s been very successful at the exact right time,” said head coach Mike O’Shea after Day 1 of rookie camp. Veterans report Sunday while the first three days are for quarterbacks and fresh faces.

“I think you can say the same thing with a bunch of guys around the league that sometimes you don’t even know why they’re not here, they’re not in the league anymore and you kind of go, ‘How did that happen?’ So, I think this might be one of those things. We’ll see, though. I’m sure Janarion will be getting calls.”

The 30-year-old, who’s listed at 5-9 and 160 pounds, has been arguably the top return specialist in the CFL since arriving in Winnipeg midway through 2019. Grant was limited to eight games last season due to injury and the Bombers struggled mightily to fill his shoes when he was sidelined.

If the former CFL all-star doesn’t work out a last minute deal with the Blue and Gold, the team might have to roll with someone who’s very familiar with Grant: fellow Rutgers University product Aron Cruickshank.

The CFL newcomer started his NCAA career at Wisconsin before transferring to Rutgers for his last three years (2020-22) and was named the Big Ten Conference’s return specialist of the year in 2020. Cruickshank, who’s an inch taller and 10 pounds heavier than Grant, had a stint in the NFL last year with the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent.

“Of course I know (who Grant is),” said Cruickshank.

“That’s a good dude, I’ll just hopefully break all the records so everybody remembers me, Aron Cruickshank, and then Janarion Grant will be under me. I feel like it’s a new age, new era, probably a 2.0 era. I’ll be a Janarion Grant 2.0, it’ll be fun.”

Cruickshank, who had seven return touchdowns during his college days, didn’t get a chance to speak with Grant before making his way up north. He’s hoping he can show his worth May 20 in Regina when the Bombers open the preseason against the Roughriders.

“I’d say I’m the one you don’t kick it to. Every time I go on the field with the ball, I feel like I’m going to score,” said Cruickshank, who hails from Brooklyn, N.Y.

“I’d be really, really scared of me if I was going against me.”

O’Shea on Kelly suspension

The biggest story in the CFL is in Toronto where Argonauts quarterback and 2023 Most Outstanding Player Chad Kelly has been suspended for a minimum of nine regular-season games for violating the league’s “gender-based violence policy.”

O’Shea wouldn’t speak on the punishment, but made it clear Wednesday woman belong in football and need to be treated with respect.

“I do feel very strongly that the women that work in our league deserve a safe workplace and deserve to be respected — everybody deserves to be respected and have a safe workplace. The women in our league, and there’s a lot of them, really deserve to feel safe coming to work every day,” he said.

“That kind of question should be posed to the women in our organization to see if they do feel safe and respected in this workplace — I believe they do, but far be it for me to answer that. They certainly deserve our support and I know organizationally we make good decisions.”

Updated playing surface

Princess Auto Stadium recently installed new turf and players definitely noticed.

It didn’t stop Manitoba Bisons product AK Gassama, who was picked in the sixth round by his hometown Bombers over a week ago, from making the play of the day as he made a contested diving catch on a deep pass near the sideline during one-on-ones.

“When they lay down turf, they got to put down all the pellets so they’re going to be fresh. Guys were slipping out here… but it does feel incredible,” said Gassama. “I can tell once this gets settled in it’s gonna be really good turf. I played on the old stuff, which was still good, but this is gonna have a lot more give. You don’t want the turf to be too sticky as well, but at the same time, it’s soft and we’ll work it in throughout this training camp.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31