‘That’s my roommate’

Trey Vaval had a feeling that fellow Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie Cam Allen was going to have a big day in Ottawa.

“It was actually crazy,” said Vaval after Wednesday’s closed practice.

“We were on the bus headed to the game and I was like, ‘Cam’s gonna have two picks today.’ And it happened.”

It sure did.

Allen, who was making his sixth start of the year at safety, hauled in an overthrown pass by Ottawa Redblacks quarterback Dru Brown in the second quarter. In the fourth, Allen was once again in the right place at the right time and capitalized on another misfire by Brown.

Ten points were scored off the two turnovers — the first of Allen’s young pro career — in what ended up being a 26-18 victory.

“Cam’s a baller, man. That’s my roommate,” said Vaval.

“I’m super happy he ended up getting that, that was dope.”

Allen’s no stranger to having a pair of interceptions in a game. He did it back in 2021 at Purdue in an upset win over No. 2-ranked Iowa and repeated the feat the following year against Minnesota. Both times he earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honours.

That’s partially why he didn’t keep either football from this past weekend.

“I’ve never been a guy to keep footballs because, in my head, there’s gonna be a lot more footballs that I’m gonna be able to grab,” said Allen. “If I end up taking them all, I feel like my house would be full of footballs.”

Allen signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in May of 2024, only to be released less than a week later. His days of chasing down receivers and footballs were in danger of being over, so, he got his license to sell life insurance. However, no sales ended up being made, as the Bombers called to invite him to this year’s camp. He made the team’s practice roster before the 25-year-old from Virginia was promoted to starting safety in Week 11.

He hasn’t looked back since.

“When I first came here, I was looking to start right off the hop. And I know how things go with the Canadian numbers and stuff like that, but with me coming in, I wanted to have that mentality,” said Allen.

“Like me and Trey making plays for us, I feel like that’s a big confidence booster for other rookies and other young guys. And also, for the vets, I feel like that makes them more confident in their ability to not try to make up for our mistakes. When they see us make plays like that, that makes them more confident.”

Vaval’s fingerprints were also all over the win. He set a Bombers record with a 128-yard missed field goal return for a touchdown and managed to have a 71-yard missed field goal return before being forced out of bounds near midfield.

“We’ve got some young guys that are playing really well for us,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“If you’re a young guy, you come in and you make a mistake, and you make the same mistake, and you make the same mistake, you’re stubborn enough, or your ego is not checked enough, that you fail to get better on a weekly basis, it’s gonna be really tough for you. I think these guys, they’ve managed to play at a high enough level because they’re willing to learn on a regular basis.”

Vaval wasn’t happy with what he learned on Monday. The CFL announced starting in 2027 the goal posts will be moved to the back of the end zone, and end zones will also be shortened from 20 yards to 15.

When that change is made, returning missed kicks will be an extremely rare occurrence, effectively eliminating a third of Vaval’s role as a return specialist.

“As a returner, this league is unique. That’s not something that we ever got to do back in the United States,” said Vaval.

“I’m pretty sad, but I’m just here to play football. We still got kickoff and punt returns. The decision is not up to me, I can’t dwell on it, I can’t change it. So, whatever happens, happens.”

The Bombers (7-7) host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (9-5) on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca