He’s a man who is incredibly soft spoken but allows his play to speak loudly.
Last season was a stellar one for Toronto Argonauts returner/receiver Janarion Grant. He returned three punts and a kickoff for touchdowns in the regular season, added a TD on a punt return in the Eastern Final, was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player, and capped it off by being on the team that won the Grey Cup, defeating the team that walked away from him a year ago.
But for the Florida native, that’s all in the rear-view mirror. He had a simple response when asked how does someone follow that kind of season?
“Just by being me,” he told Argonauts.ca. “Being here for the team and taking it one day at a time. I’m not trying to live up to last year because that’s last year. This year’s a new year.”
Grant doesn’t say that in a boastful manner, he’s anything but self-centered. The Rutgers product comes to work every day ready to work, both physically and mentally, and always has a positive attitude.
Picture a quieter version of his general manager, Michael “Pinball” Clemons. The GM’s name is prominent when talking about the greatest returners in CFL history and knows a thing or two about what’s needed to excel in that aspect of the game.
What makes the man known to his teammates simply as “J.G.” such a special specialist?
“He is one of the most intimidating runners I’ve seen.”
Huh? Grant is listed at 5’9”, 175 pounds, which may be polite.
Clemons expanded.
“When I speak of intimidating, he’s a guy that doesn’t mind going in a straight line, but we also know about his speed. He’s so dangerous in every respect. He does all the little things well.”
When the GM was talking about JG he mentioned no fear of going up the middle, best exemplified last year in a regular season game in Montreal, where Grant took a kickoff at his own seven-yard line and ran in a straight line. He headed right into the area of the field that’s usually jammed with bodies, and didn’t stop until he reached the Alouette end zone 103 yards later.
Clemons explained that heading into the belly of the beast is not necessarily a bad option for a returner.
“The great thing about running in the middle is that if you get through that first burst, (makes a whooshing sound indicating the returner is off to the end zone). The shortest distance between any points is a straight line. He has the ability to stick his foot in the ground and go straight ahead, and if he does see contact, he’s able to put himself in a position where guys don’t get a clean hit on him the majority of the time.”
Grant’s contributions as a returner are well-documented, but he’s also a capable receiver. While used mostly on sweeps on offence, Grant came up with an enormous play in the Eastern Final, mostly forgotten because of multiple other huge plays that game, including one of his own, a 71-punt return for a touchdown that reduced a nine-point Montreal lead to two.
After an exchange of punts to start the third quarter, and with the Argos nursing a five-point lead, the Boatmen took over on their own three-yard line. Grant lined up in the right slot and ran an out route. As Chad Kelly was flushed from the pocket and rolled to Grant’s side of the field he spotted the receiver, who turned his route downfield and beaten his man. Kelly threw a perfect pass, hauled in 40 yards downfield in full stride by Grant, resulting in a 47-yard play, getting the Argos out of a huge jam, and leading to a Lirim Hajrullahu field goal.
Which play does Grant remember more fondly, the catch or the return touchdown?
“The catch definitely was a big one,” he recalled. “You don’t see me out there (on offence) as much, I’m just a sweep guy. The catch definitely made a difference, and the return definitely helped the offence out. It was a big six.”
The 31-year old receiver has been getting a lot of offensive reps in camp, showing off his capabilities as a receiver.
“Janarion is a cheat code,” said Pete Costanza, receivers coach and obvious gamer. “He’s athletically gifted, great feet, good hands. The thing you wouldn’t notice about Janarion because he’s so quiet is how smart he is. He works really diligently at perfecting his craft at the receiver position. Some of the things he can do getting in and out of breaks takes a while with other people, where he just gets it naturally. You can’t coach speed, and he’s got plenty of that.”
The follow-up question then became obvious, why not incorporate him more as a receiver?
“He’s arguably the best returner in the league, there’s no need to put more hits on him,” explained Costanza. “There’s always special packages for him and we can put him in at any time and just run the regular offence because he knows it. We try to get him in there, but we also understand that value is what he brings to the return game.”
Grant spent the off-season in Tampa, Florida, preparing for another season. He’s come to camp with the same physical weapons but has added something else to his arsenal in the year he’s been wearing Double Blue.
“Just being patient,” he explained. “I’ve got to be a little more physical and knowing my routes, learning what the defensive back is doing and how I adjust to that. I’m very comfortable, but there’s still room for improvement.”
ARGO NOTES: Friday was a light practice day as the team held an hour-long walkthrough…The team’s weekend schedule at Guelph sees practices both Saturday and Sunday. Each day the team will take to the field at around 9:30 for warmups, then practice 9:55-11:50. Fans are welcome to attend…On Monday the team will hold its Double Blue Game. It’s not a game in the truest sense, the team will be placed in a series of game situations and practice those at full speed, with CFL officials on the field. The pre-game warmup begins at around 2:50 Monday with the action beginning at 3:45 and lasting for about an hour. Admission at Guelph’s Alumni Stadium is free.