It was the kind of punt that makes a returner’s eyes light up.

Calgary Stampeders punter Mark Vassett didn’t hit the ball cleanly and launched a low spiral toward Toronto Argonauts returner Janarion Grant. It bounced directly to the Rutgers product who caught it at his 46-yard line and sprinted down the left sideline before cutting back to the numbers. After Derek Slywka annihilated Vassett with an enormous block, a diving defender got a hand on Grant at the 35-yard line but had no chance to pull down the veteran returner.

It was Grant’s 12th career punt return TD, moving him into sole possession of second place on the CFL’s all-time list. He also moved into a tie with former Argo Bashir Levingston with 15 total kick return touchdowns, how deadlocked for second all-time, and trailing just the immortal Henry “Gizmo” Williams in both categories.

Grant seems painfully shy at times, perhaps best exemplified by his speech when awarded the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player Award in 2024 when he looked like he would rather be anywhere but on the stage in front of the crowd and the cameras.

The soft-spoken Floridian is much more comfortable on the field, and when asked by Argonauts.ca if a return touchdown boosts his confidence, he showed a rare sign of bravado.

“It’s already boosted, it just boosts it even more,” said Grant. “It just lets me know that there’s more to come, and if we keep doing what we’re doing everything will fall into place.”

That’s good news for the Argos, maybe not so much for the rest of the CFL. Grant already leads the league with an average punt return of 17.1 yards and is the only player with more than one punt return touchdown this year, accounting for two of the CFL’s five PR TDs scored.

Argo special teams captain Brian Harelimana has been Grant’s teammate for the last three seasons. He knows what the returner’s greatest superpower is.

“He’s so deceptively fast,” the U-Montreal product told Argonauts.ca. “He looks like he’s jogging every time, but he’ll take three strides and he gets away from every angle. He’s been doing this for a long time, and he makes our job way easier. We’re glad to have him on our team, for sure.”

Special teams coordinator Mickey Donovan has all his groups humming right now. They lead the league in punting, net punting, co-lead the league with six punts inside the 10-yard line, are third in kickoff return average, and have improved to third in punt coverage.

Harelimana says there’s nothing really new about what they’ve been doing.

“It’s just guys buying in,” he said. “Mickey is doing a great job every week preparing us and giving us great schemes. Like I said, the most important thing is that guys are buying in, getting our philosophy down, and having the attitude to run downfield and make a play.”

The team’s talent on special teams is also top notch. Harelimana is joined by players like Adarius Pickett and Slywka, that trio co-leading the team with eight special teams tackles each. Veterans like Jack Cassar, Cameron Judge, and Isaac Darkangelo are also key contributors, as are newcomers like L-P Gauthier and Darius McKenzie.

Everyone will be counted on to do their job against the Elks, as the game shapes up to be a close one, with special teams perhaps being the deciding factor. Grant doesn’t feel any added pressure knowing one of his returns may be the difference.

“I don’t feel pressure,” he said matter-of-factly. “You’ve just got to go into the game the same way and take it one play at a time. The ultimate goal is to get into the end zone.”