Bombers’ Chris Smith emerges as top contender for return specialist role

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This article was published 01/06/2024 (527 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers may have found the man they’ve been looking for.

Chris Smith made his presence known in a big way in the Bombers’ second and final preseason game, with a performance that no doubt has sling-shotted the 24-year-old rookie to the front of the race for the club’s next kick returner.

Smith was far and away Winnipeg’s most prolific returner on the night, and never did he look more dangerous than when he returned a punt 109 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter. The TD gave the Bombers their first lead of the night, only for the home-side to lose grip as the game went on, eventually falling to the Calgary Stampeders, 31-10, at Princess Auto Stadium Friday night.

“All week, all camp I’ve just been waiting for an opportunity, and the Lord finally blessed me with it,” Smith said after the game. “That was my first punt return for a touchdown since high school. So, that definitely felt amazing.”

Smith retrieved the ball on Winnipeg’s one-yard line, in front of the uprights, and after finding an open lane up the middle, he cut towards the right sideline and mustered just enough speed to outlast a stream of Stampeder defenders trailing behind. Smith finished the game with 113 yards on two punt returns and an additional 23 yards on his lone kick-off return.

“I waited just a little bit and then it opened up. I know once I got past the punter, there was no one there and I returned it,” Smith said. “I ran out of gas when I almost got there, but I wasn’t going to let that chance slip out from under me.”

While the TD didn’t lead to a victory, with the Bombers finishing the preseason 0-2, it did provide a big boost to players watching from the sidelines. It was the only six-point score for the Bombers, with a 42-yard field goal by Sergio Castillo rounding out the scoring.

““Electric. We definitely needed some momentum,” Bombers quarterback Terry Wilson said. “Chris is a smart guy, he works hard. That was a great run. I didn’t know he could do that; I didn’t know he could return kicks. So, that was awesome.”

The Bombers entered training camp with an open audition at returner, after opting not to re-sign Janarion Grant. Grant left big shoes to fill, leaving Winnipeg as the club’s all-time leader in return TDs, with eight in 41 regular-season games, while scoring two more in eight playoff tilts.

With Grant gone, the Bombers are relying on a handful of unknowns to take his place. Other candidates for the job include Aron Cruickshank, who, like Grant, went to Rutgers University, as well as Myron Mitchell and Josh Vann.

None could perform as well as Smith on this night, however, with Cruickshank averaging 18 yards on two punts, Van averaging 13 yards on the same number of punt returns. Mitchell had just one return – a 26-yard gain off a kickoff.

Smith entered camp as a running back – and he had six carries for 16 yards against the Stamps – but he knows his best chance of making the team is on special teams as a returner.

“That’s the job I want to win. If I can just keep doing that, I can win that job and just help this team get to where we want to be,” Smith said. “It would mean a lot. After not playing football, getting released by Seattle, not being in a training camp last year, it meant a lot.”

After a strong career as a kick-off returner for Louisiana at Lafayette, the Kansas native spent parts of last year with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks but wasn’t able to survive mini-camp cuts. Smith was also selected by the San Antonio Brahmas in the 2023 XFL Rookie Draft but was released before ever getting a chance to compete at training camp.

“I basically had a year off and was questioning what I was going to do with my life,” Smith said earlier in training camp. “I started coaching at a private school, I did 11-man football and eight-man. It was a good experience, but I talked to my wife and God blessed me with the opportunity to be here. It’s been great, not much of a change other than the rules. It’s a fun football league to be in, I love it.”

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea was impressed with Smith’s performance and especially the return TD. O’Shea had been looking for someone to grab a hold of the role, and Smith did just that.

But can one play be enough to make the team?

“That’s an interesting question. The answer is, absolutely yes,” O’Shea said. “Because that one play could be a breakup a 10-10 tie. Anytime you create a monstrous play like that, you certainly want to make sure you have the rest of the evaluation. But that was excellent. What a good return.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton