Trey Vaval had just finished authoring a rare feat — and that’s saying something in the near century-old history of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — by becoming the franchise’s first player to return a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in the same game.
And as the clubhouse was jumping inside a victorious clubhouse late Friday night, the rookie cornerback/returner’s voice could barely be heard as was surrounded by a swarm of reporters and cameras. What happened next was a tiny snapshot into an introspective and quiet athlete who is desperate to establish a place with his new team and teammates while dealing with the pressures that go along with being a pro athlete.
we call that a breakout game. #ForTheW pic.twitter.com/ZL6NrJ3w9E
— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) August 2, 2025
Vaval didn’t spit out even one syllable that hinted at boasting despite his accomplishment. Instead, he offered an honest take on what his first seven games earning a Canadian Football League paycheque have been like.
“These first couple of games I’m just trying to get used to being a professional athlete,” said the 24-year-old Missouri product who split his college days between Missouri Western State and Minnesota State. “I’m a rookie. I’m just trying to fit in with my teammates, be a good teammate and not trying to turn the ball over. (Two previous fumbles on kick returns) has been in my head a lot lately.
“I came in here today and it was like, ‘Man, just decompress. Just thank God, believe in your teammates — I’ve been doing that the whole time — and just really believing them.’ Sergio (Castillo) messages me every morning, ‘You’re going to get one (a return touchdown).’ I have teammates who believe in me, so I’ve just got to buy into the program, believe, trust God and don’t stress.
“This is a stressful game, especially as a rookie. I’m out there as a returner and I don’t want to mess up. I’m carrying the organization in my hands when I have that ball. So, I just kind of relaxed today and just trusted my blockers and hit the holes.”
He did that, and then some. There have been some exceptional returners in Blue Bombers history — from the man wearing enemy colours Friday night in Janarion Grant to Leo Lewis, Keith Stokes, Charles Roberts, Albert Johnson III, Paul Bennett, Jovon Johnson, Gord Rowland, Pepe Latourelle, Eric Blount and many more — but none accomplished what Vaval did in Friday’s 40-31 win over the Toronto Argonauts.
Vaval first brought Princess Auto Stadium to life in the first quarter after a Pick-6 by Cameron Judge and the Argos with a sensational 93-yard touchdown on the ensuing kickoff. And then with less than a minute to go in the first half — yes, all this happened in the opening 30 minutes — Vaval then returned a punt 97 yards for another score.
By the night’s end he had amassed 238 return yards — 145 on seven punt returns plus the 93-yard kickoff return — and in the process established himself as the clear-cut returner,
Asked what a game like this could do for his confidence, Vaval offered this:
“I wouldn’t really even say, ‘confidence’ because I’ve been playing football since I was a kid. I would just say it feels like I had a weight lifted off me. Like I said, it’s been really stressful. I’m a rookie and not a lot of rookies can go out there and say they’re playing or on that starting job; there’s not a lot of people in the world who are playing professional sports.
“So, I feel like a weight has been lifted off me and I can just go out there now and just go ball like I’ve been doing my whole life.”
To that end — and we pointed this out Friday — Vaval had ‘2004’ written on the tape across his nose as a reminder that he’s been playing football since that year and to “relax, take a deep breath and you’re built for this moment. Trust your teammates and just be a Blue Bomber.”
“That’s high-end sport,” said head coach Mike O’Shea when told of Vaval’s post-game reaction. “If you interview Olympic athletes or pro athletes across various sports ad I think at some point they all have to learn to enjoy it a little more because it’s always, ‘What I should have done better; what I can do more of’ and you remember the mistakes more than you remember the peak emotion of crossing a goal line after scoring.
“You go back and watch a whole game and I bet he’s thinking about another play he wants to have back. They’re too young to be thinking that way; they need to enjoy it more.”
Friday sure should help because he brought a whole lot of joy to another sellout crowd and hundreds of thousands more watching on television.
ICYMI, here’s our Game Recap story from Friday’s important win over the Argos:
And what follows is the rest of this week’s UPON FURTHER REVIEW…
THREE NUMBERS WHICH STOOD OUT… after a second glance at the stats package, which can be found here:
1 The Blue Bombers got the two Vaval kick return touchdowns plus a scoop-and-score TD by defensive end Jay Person following a Willie Jefferson strip sack all in building a 31-13 halftime lead. Yet, there were still enough mistakes on all three phases to make this more difficult than it needed to be for the home side.
Chris Streveler threw three interceptions — the first one tipped at the line of scrimmage and then returned by Cameron Judge for a touchdown, the second a bomb that essentially served as a punt and the third an odd play call that resulted in a pick in the end zone and took at least a potential field goal off the board that would have come close to sealing the result.
“Trying to close it out. I appreciate the coaches trusting me there,” said Streveler. “I’ve got to be better with the football. It’s on me.”
“You see how stacked the box is (the Argos loading up near the line of scrimmage) and there’s throws on the board there,” added O’Shea. “At some point you have to do that (pass), too. I’m OK with that. If they’re going to load the box, you have to make them play at some point.”
The Judge Pick-6, by the way, was the fourth interception for a touchdown against the Blue Bombers already this season. Just for context, Winnipeg had five against in 2015 and six back in 2003.
2 Another mixed performance by the Blue Bombers defence, which finished with five sacks for the second straight game, limited the Argos to 327 yards passing and just eight rushing yards on five attempts but were also hurt on occasion by the deep ball.
Toronto receiver Damonte Coxie finished with nine receptions for 187 yards and two touchdowns and after the two games against Winnipeg had 15 catches for 332 yards and three scores.
Yowza.
To their credit the Blue Bombers were considerably better on second down, limiting Toronto to a conversion rate of just 33 percent (6-of-18) and 36 percent (4-of-11) on second and seven or longer.
3 Another steady game for Blue Bombers middle linebacker Tony Jones who tied for the team lead in tackles with four with Jamal Parker, Jr. — who had been solid before leaving the game due to injury in the second half — while adding a pass knockdown and critical interception in the fourth quarter.
In the last two games he had 10 tackles, two sacks, the knockdown and interception.
WILLIE JEFFERSON WAS A FORCE… on Friday with one tackle, the strip-sack that led to the Person fumble and four pass knockdowns. He now has 76 career sacks and 85 knockdowns as he continues his pursuing his goal of being the first player in CFL history to hit the 100 total in both departments.
The four pass knockdowns, FYI, is just one off the league record shared by Emanuel Martin of Ottawa (Edmonton’s Kavis Reed and Davis Sanchez. He 85 knockdowns ranks third all-time behind only Eddie Davis (111 from 1995-2009 with Birmingham, Calgary and Sask ) and Adrion Smith (90 from 1994-2005 with Memphis, Toronto and Hamilton).
“It’s just me playing within the defence,” said Jefferson. “Just trying to be disruptive, trying to be a dominant force, trying to get off the field on second down just like we’ve been saying all week. That’s what we wanted to do.”
Asked if he could recall having four knockdowns in a game, he added: “I have absolutely no idea. I’m just adding them up at this point. I know I’m over 80 right now and I’m just trying to catch up with the sacks.”
AND FINALLY… thanks for reading this far and for those who have made it to the bottom and want to see more of the dramatics from Friday’s win, we have it here with the condensed game: