MITCH WARD
CFL.ca
Meet Mr. Versatility: Grant Shaw.
CFL teams are always on the lookout for rare commodities like Shaw: a non-import guy who can handle both punting and placekicking duties. It’s unheard of to find one who also happens to be an All-Star defensive back.
Edmonton native Grant Shaw presents an interesting opportunity to CFL teams because he can kick, punt and line up in the defensive secondary.
Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing in at 210 lbs., Shaw is bigger than your average CIS cornerback and a lot bigger than the average kicker.
A standout for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies the last two years, Shaw was named a Canada West All-Star at corner for the Huskies in 2009 while also nailing 19 of 23 field goals and handling the team’s punting duties.
Shaw’s size, strength and versatility have made him an enticing prospect for CFL teams and earned him an invitation him to the CFL Evaluation Camp presented by Reebok a few weeks back.
Not bad for a guy who almost quit football after high school. Following his senior year, Shaw tried out for the Edmonton Huskies of the Prairie Football Conference and was cut.
“Being cut was very eye-opening for me. It kind of knocks you down a peg,” says the 25-year old Edmonton native. “Initially, I didn’t think I’d go back.”
Shaw ended up spending two years playing flag football before friends convinced him to give football another shot.
“The guys said you gotta start playing again, and that really motivated me to make a comeback, so I tried out for the Huskies again in ‘04 and made the team as a corner.”
Shaw had a breakout year and won a national championship with the Edmonton Huskies in 2005, recording 12 interceptions in 12 games. He also took over the team’s kicking duties that season. In his last season with the Huskies, Shaw was named the PFC’s special teams player of the year, kicker of the year and an all-star at defensive back.
After taking another year off, Shaw joined another Huskies squad, this time at the U of S. Last season, his second with Saskatchewan, he recorded 18 tackles with one interception, one breakup and one forced fumble.
He also hit over 80% of his field goal tries, tied a Canada West record with a 55-yarder and averaged 38 yards per punt. And that was with his ankles taped and spatted.
At E-Camp Shaw may not have put up the eye-popping numbers of some of his fellow participants, but he quietly put together a very impressive weekend. He posted a 38” vertical leap, ran a 4.62 40-yard dash and finished in the upper tier of nearly every testing category, while also impressing in the one-on-ones.
“I think my testing went well,” he says, “I trained extremely hard for it, came close to all of my goals and I think the teams were impressed with my athleticism.”
The biggest question now is what to do with him?
Shaw is almost certainly not going to continue doing triple-duty at the pro level. Whether he ends up as a kicker or DB will likely be determined by the needs of whatever team gives him a shot.
At this point Shaw is still hedging his bets on which he would prefer.
“I really don’t know, I love both, I have been training hard for both and would be happy doing either,” he says.
If he remains a defensive player Shaw would likely make the switch to safety and see action on special teams. Even though he never played on the cover teams at the U of S due to his kicking duties, Huskies head coach Brian Towriss doesn’t think he’d have any trouble making the switch.
“Grant is an incredible athlete, very much in the mold of a Dylan Barker” says Towriss. Barker, another former Huskies DB, led the CFL with 37 special teams tackles for the Ticats last season.
Towriss also noted that Shaw excelled during special teams drills during practice despite never seeing the field in that capacity.
As a kicker Towriss also feels that Shaw is ready for the pros. “He’s ready to place kick at the CFL level. He has a strong leg and good natural technique,” he says.
High praise for someone who has never been formally trained as a kicker or devoted himself to doing it full-time in the university or junior ranks.
“With all of my teams so far it has been kind of don’t mess with a good thing. Shaw is kicking the ball and it’s working, so let him do what works for him,” he says.
“Getting tips and working with pros and guys who know what they’re talking about could only help me.”
Between now and the draft Shaw is continuing to work hard on improving himself at both positions.
“As a DB speed is a huge factor, the faster I can get the better and just improving my footwork and eliminating wasted steps in my dropbacks and breaks,” he says. “Kicking I just need to work on being more consistent.”
“Grant is such a competitor, he just wants to play,” adds Towriss “he could have a great future in the CFL.”
With his talent and versatility he certainly could. We’ll just have to wait to see which position that future will be at. And with the Canadian Draft coming up on May 2, we’ll find out sooner rather than later.