Blue Bombers’ return star Vaval pushes for starting defence role in 2nd CFL season - BERITAJA

Trey Vaval dominated the CFL successful 2025, rewriting convention and franchise grounds books during a historical rookie season.

As the Winnipeg Blue Bombers unfastened training camp, galore about the three-down crippled are wondering what the move returner has planned for an encore successful his 2nd year. While fans mightiness expect much record-breaking returns, Vaval’s 2nd enactment is aimed astatine a wholly different shape of the game.

With important vacancies successful the club’s secondary, the 25-year-old hopes to parlay his occurrence arsenic a master into a full-time starting domiciled connected defence.

“I judge I could make an effect connected defence. But nary matter wherever I americium connected the field, I conscionable want to beryllium retired location helping my team,” Vaval said, opinionated successful the southbound extremity area astatine Princess Auto Stadium Sunday pursuing the league’s first time of training camp.

“I want to play each spot — returning, defence, offence. I will do thing for my team.”

While modesty has go a defining characteristic of Vaval disconnected the field, connected it, he’s a ruthless competitor. The autochthonal of Blue Springs, Mo., is coming disconnected a rookie run that established him arsenic 1 of the game’s about vulnerable open-field threats.

Last August, Vaval became the first subordinate successful Bombers history to return some a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown successful the aforesaid game, starring Winnipeg to a Week 9 triumph complete the Toronto Argonauts. In September, he group a CFL single-game grounds for missed section extremity return yardage successful a triumph complete the Ottawa Redblacks, punctuated by a 128-yard people that tied for the seventh-longest successful convention history.

Named the league’s Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player during Grey Cup week successful Winnipeg, Vaval vanished the 2025 play arsenic the CFL’s leader successful punt return yards (957), missed section extremity return yards (391) and return touchdowns, pinch four. He’s nether statement pinch the Bombers done 2027.

Vaval’s steep emergence successful the CFL unsocial mightiness warrant filling 1 of the protect backmost vacancies near by departed veterans Demerio Houston, Jamal Parker and Terrell Bonds. But he besides has a instauration to build on, having started 4 games astatine field-side area past twelvemonth and finishing pinch 21 protect tackles, 4 typical squad tackles and an interception.

“I for illustration being a winner. I for illustration to dominate,” Vaval said. “The Bombers for illustration to dominate. We’re winners. That’s who we are. In each shape of the game, I want to make a sanction for myself.”

His chances of earning a starting spot are heightened by a conditioning level that moreover Winnipeg’s apical seasoned recovered daunting this off-season. Running backmost Brady Oliveira, the league’s Most Outstanding Player successful 2024 and a fittingness freak, spent portion of the wintertime training pinch Vaval, a overmuch leaner teammate.

“I was trying to tally pinch him this off-season truthful that erstwhile the play comes, it becomes a batch easier,” Oliveira said. “But I realized my legs sewage cooked 1 time because he conscionable kept maine retired present overmuch longer than I expected. I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m 230 (pounds), you’re 170, there’s levels to this.’ He pushed me, and it was really bully to conscionable get to cognize him better.”

Oliveira added that Vaval has go the blueprint for American rookies coming up to Canada: “He went from a rookie to being 1 of the champion players successful the CFL correct now.”

Veteran protect backmost Deatrick Nichols puts Vaval firmly successful the operation for the unfastened protect spots, noting he already possesses the Bombers’ just-do-your-job attitude.

“It’s not boxing aliases tennis — you’ve sewage 10 guys retired location pinch you,” Nichols said. “Everybody has a role. If you could maestro your domiciled — and his was to beryllium a prima connected typical teams — past you succeed. He’s sewage the abilities. It’s about bringing that cognition into everything you do.”

Head coach Mike O’Shea credited Vaval’s breakout rookie play to a “thirst for knowledge” regarding the nuances of the Canadian game. While O’Shea is encouraged by Vaval’s physicality — noting he isn’t awkward to “stick his chemoreceptor successful location and whack guys” — the coach emphasized that the modulation to full-time area besides requires intelligence discipline.

“He’s truthful athletic, you could put him successful a spot and say, ‘Hey, you’re conscionable going to spell connected an land and do your thing,'” O’Shea said. “That’s not the measurement we do it here, truthful he’s sewage to learn, and he has. He does person a tremendous desire to study arsenic overmuch arsenic he could and beryllium arsenic bully arsenic he perchance can, for the correct reasons, for his teammates.”

Vaval enters his 2nd Bombers training campy pinch newfound assurance aft a wintertime successful which he worked retired for six NFL teams, including the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, and Atlanta Falcons.

Indeed, the modulation from quiet rookie to respected squad leader is already taking shape.

“First time past year, I didn’t cognize anybody. Now I locomotion in, and I’m cool pinch everybody,” Vaval said. “We each cognize really to play the crippled — it’s conscionable about perfecting it.”

Despite the accolades successful the return crippled and his push for a bigger domiciled connected defence, Vaval remains focused connected 1 point supra each else.

“Get that Grey Cup,” he said. “That’s the biggest goal.”