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John Woods \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker Tanner Cadwallader, intercepting a pass, can play multiple positions on both sides of the ball, head coach Mike O\u2019Shea said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really want to take the ball off the punter\u2019s foot. You don\u2019t want to be reaching for it when it\u2019s in flight or anything like that. It\u2019s just hitting your target. Knowing where your target is, knowing where that foot is going to be and then going out and finding it and trying to be on time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plays like this don\u2019t happen by accident, they require precision \u2014 and that\u2019s a quality Cadwallader has shown on numerous occasions over his six season with the Bombers.<\/p>\n
A seventh round pick of the Bombers in 2020, Cadwallader is up to 75 special teams tackles in 97 games and has done his part to earn a reputation he takes an immense amount of pride in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, he\u2019s the hardest worker in the building,\u201d said Bombers punter Jamieson Sheahan. \u201cHe pays attention to detail, he\u2019s here on the off days, he\u2019s leading the meetings on special teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a guy that puts in a lot of work and then it was really nice for it to show up on that play on the weekend. Not a surprise to anyone because of how much time he puts in. Just a real glue guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some research done by Sheahan during a post-game discussion with Alouettes punter Joseph Zema led to a revealing discovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said it was the first blocked punt of his career. No one had ever blocked a punt off him before and he\u2019s played 10-plus years,\u201d said Sheahan. \u201cHe\u2019s a good punter and he gets it off pretty quick, so we knew we had to be good. They had a different (long) snapper in and had some different changes in their personnel. We thought that if everyone did their job, someone was going to get home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey left Tanner (free) and Tanner did a fantastic job. He got off the ball really well and made a great play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although he\u2019s not one to seek the spotlight, Cadwallader was on the receiving end of praise from teammates and members of the coaching staff this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the hardest worker in the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s funny. I can remember his first training camp, when I was still a player,\u201d said special teams coach Mike Miller, known as one of the best special teams players in CFL history. \u201cYou just saw the way that he was studying. He was in his playbook, for defence and special teams. The way he worked pre- and post-practice. He just really embraces his role and it obviously shows with the way that he produces on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cadwallader pays careful attention to several players around the league as a way to help him stay sharp in that constant push to keep improving.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very evasive. He knows how to get off blocks, he\u2019s a physical player and he\u2019s hard to block,\u201d said Miller. \u201cHis natural athletic ability carries him through, but his want to, his buy-in and how he makes his teammates better probably pushes him over.\u201d<\/p>\n
The blocked punt that was recovered by David Reese at the Alouettes one-yard line and led to a Bryce Perkins rushing touchdown wasn\u2019t the only prominent play made by Cadwallader last week.<\/p>\n
He was also quick to scoop up a loose ball after Bombers returner Trey Vaval fumbled the opening kickoff.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, unfortunately that was my blocking assignment that made contact (with Vaval),\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I was so close to (the loose ball). I\u2019m kicking myself for not doing a better job on the block and Trey taking that hit. The recovery is just seeing the ball loose on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
The road to becoming a special teams demon has been both interesting and circuitous.<\/p>\n
Cadwallader began playing football at the age of eight after his godfather, former CFL receiver Dom Vetro, helped him get onto his older brother\u2019s team.<\/p>\n
Cadwallader was a quarterback in high school and played wide receiver when he began his USports career with Western University.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an extremely gifted athlete who has a nose for football, a knack for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He transferred to Wilfrid Laurier for his final three seasons of USports and then had an excellent season in the Canadian Junior Football League with the London Beefeaters, with a pit stop suiting up for the Bologna Warriors in the Italian Football League.<\/p>\n
Though he\u2019s listed as a linebacker, he\u2019s also played defensive back and safety at various points along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just about showing up every day, enjoying what you do and just putting everything into it,\u201d said Cadwallader, who helped the Bombers capture the Grey Cup as a rookie in 2021. \u201cThis part of the game, there\u2019s not much recognition in it. It\u2019s about how much you love the game and it\u2019s an opportunity to win (a battle) against a guy in front of you.<\/p>\n
\u201cTry to play physical all the time and play good football for the sake of doing the job rather than thinking you\u2019re going to have a good first down celebration or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being versatile is one thing, but Cadwallader takes that to the extreme.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing you realize is how athletic he is and how he understands the game and can play multiple positions on both sides of the ball or in all three phases,\u201d said Bombers head coach Mike O\u2019Shea. \u201cWhen he was a 7-on-7 guy, I believe he was a quarterback and garnered a few lofty nicknames with how talented he was. He runs around in practice and runs the scout team offence and he\u2019ll regularly run routes and make great catches when the defence is trying to stop him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can do a lot of different things. He\u2019s an extremely gifted athlete who has a nose for football, a knack for it and you can see it from a bunch of different angles in three phases, which is pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s game was an emotional one for Cadwallader as it came on what would have been his father\u2019s 75th birthday.<\/p>\n
Finch passed away from bladder cancer in April, nearly nine years after his mother Delia lost her battle with cancer.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Darryl Dyck \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker Tanner Cadwallader is the \u2018hardest worker in the building\u2019, punter Jamieson Sheahan said.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cLosing a parent isn\u2019t easy,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it gets easier. Having lost my mom years ago, I still think about my mom all the time. I miss her and now with my dad being more recent.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was before training camp kicked off, so I needed to get my head square before coming into camp.\u201d<\/p>\n Cadwallader has a picture of his dad in his locker as a reminder of the support he\u2019s provided over the years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just one of those things,\u201d said Cadwallader. \u201cHe\u2019s with me everywhere I go.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/kenwiebe<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Ken Wiebe Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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