Vaval has eyes on bigger prize

You would suspect that Trey Vaval would love to be able to go head over heels again.

With the Winnipeg Blue Bombers welcoming the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to town Thursday for their CFL home opener, the explosive returner was asked if the visit sparked any memories.

“No, not really. It’s a new year, a new game. Everything is different,” said Vaval, last season’s Rookie of the Year and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player. “Everyone keeps talking about last year, but I don’t give a (expletive) about last year. I’m not worried about stats or accolades or the stuff that happened. I want to go to that Grey Cup and get that (expletive) Cup. That’s the only thing we’ve been worried about. Dwelling on the past? No, there’s no time to do that.”

We have a moment for the moment. On Sept. 27, Hamilton’s Marc Legghio booted the ball high into the sunny sky at Princess Auto Stadium. Vaval fielded it at the 13-yard line and quickly found daylight. His vision and speed, combined with several critical blocks, created a lane to burst down the sideline 98 yards to paydirt 11 seconds into the contest.

The celebration began with a forward flip into the end zone.

“I think that was the first time that happened,” said Vaval of his opening kickoff major. “All around, it was a cool moment.”

It was an early exclamation point in a blowout victory.

“An amazing way to start the game,” said Nick Hallett, the Bombers special teams ace. “That’s how we want to start every game, obviously. But just doing our part on specials to help the team get to where we want to go.”

Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros was caught off guard earlier this week when reviewing the video of that game as part of his preparation.

“Just kind of going back and watching how that game was called from a defensive side of it. I forgot how we scored that first touchdown,” said Collaros. “I was like, ‘How are we up 6-0 here?’ I remember it was a day game and that just really blew the lid off the stadium, really started a snowball effect.

“All three phases played well that day. But anytime you get the special-teams rolling like that, it’s huge for the team.”

Vaval made a remarkable impression on his teammates and served notice that he could be dangerous every time the ball was in his hands during his rookie campaign.

After working out with six NFL teams during the off-season, Vaval is back with the Blue and Gold and takes pride in being someone his team is counting on to make big plays. He had four return touchdown last season, and lead the league in punt return yards (957 yards) and missed field goal return yards (391 yards) and was fifth in kickoff return yards (918).

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a practice player or a starter, everybody has a role, everyone has something to do. So everyone has their own pressure in that way,” said Vaval. “In the position I’m in, as a kid I always dreamed of being in this spot. It’s not something to stress about. My feet are planted here for a reason and I’m just blessed.”

Vaval’s teammates are happy to have him back and excited to see what he has in store for an encore.

“He’s fearless out there,” said Bomber receiver Nic Demski. “I think that’s the number one trait you need as a returner. Everybody talks about how fast he is and all that stuff, but he has great vision, and he just hits it when he sees it open up.

“He’s a smaller dude, but it’s really tough to bring him down. He’s slippery and he plays a lot heavier than what he weighs. He’s a great returner.”

Vaval had a strong performance in the opener at Calgary, with three kick returns for 69 yards and four punt returns for 105 yards, including a 53-yard scamper that put the Bombers in great field position.

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