There are many stories of actors going method — staying in character at all times, forming a complete attachment with a role or project — and finding great success as a result. Heath Ledger did it playing the Joker in The Dark Knight; Jim Carrey did it playing Andy Kaufman in Man On The Moon.
We may have found the CFL’s first great method actor in Janarion Grant.
As elusive and impossible to track down as can be on the field — he has three kick return touchdowns in three straight games — Grant apparently is even harder to corral when the season ends.
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After four seasons in Winnipeg, Grant went into the off-season and vanished, proving unreachable by the team and apparently even his agent. In the early days of free agency this year, Bombers’ general managers told reporters in Winnipeg that it’s not uncommon for Grant to go off the radar in the winter.
The 30-year-old became the Bombers’ all-time leader in return touchdowns (eight) and had proven himself to be an important piece of the team’s success in its run of four-straight trips to the Grey Cup game. He stayed incognito through February, into March and April. Just as mysteriously as he vanished, he reappeared with the Toronto Argonauts, signing with the club on May 28.
“I’m just in my own world, making sure I’m taking things the right way, one day at a time, taking care of the family at home and making sure my body is well, prepared and ready to go for the next season. That’s what I focus on,” Grant said this week of where exactly he goes in the off-season.
“My main focus is making sure my body is prepared.”
His explosive start with his new team just may give him carte blanche on how he handles his off-seasons going forward. Per this week’s CFL.ca Game Notes, Grant is just the third player in league history to have three kick return TDs in three consecutive games, joining Henry Williams (1990) and Chris Williams (2012). Grant has 11 career kick return touchdowns (nine punt, two kickoffs) in 47 games. His mark of scoring one in every 4.3 games stands as the best in league history. His 16.3 yards per return would put him at fourth all-time and his career punt return average of 13.4 yards is also fourth all-time.
Grant brought high expectations to the Argos when the team signed him, but head coach Ryan Dinwiddie admitted this week that Grant’s exceptional play has him exceeding them, just six games into the season.
“I especially didn’t expect him to start off this fast, this early,” the coach said. “That’s why we brought him in, because he’s an electric guy, a difference maker when he was in Winnipeg. Now he’s doing that with us, too. We made a decision about four days into training camp, I felt we needed a returner to come in here and change games, which is what he’s doing.”
Tonight, Grant gets the chance to make game changing plays against his former team, along with the chance to add to his unique touchdown streak. If the five-foot-nine, 157-pound Florida native feels any semblance of emotion over this reunion, he put on an award-winning performance in masking it.
“Not at all,” he said to any emotional element working its way into this game. “You just know that it’s a pro league. You also know they’re on the other side of the field now. You just have to make sure you can do what you need to do for your team.”
The Bombers will no doubt look across the field and see a player that they miss. Grant’s productivity in the return game would be a blessing to an offence that has just three passing touchdowns this season. Not every return is a trip to the end zone, but a prolific returner like Grant is a constant threat for field position, making a tough job a little easier for an offence. That’s what he’s brought to Toronto this year.
“Obviously stopping them is difficult,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said on Friday. “Everybody that’s been with us for a while, recognizes that, they see (Grant). They see what he did for us and he’s continuing on in that vein.
“He keeps going like he is, he will be there on top lists, in CFL history. He’s exceptional, tough to stop, obviously.”
Bombers’ QB Zach Collaros won’t have to worry about tackling Grant, but he knows what his former teammate is capable of and has seen him racing all over fields across the league this year.
“It’s been awesome,” Collaros said of watching Grant’s production this year, laying on some heavy sarcasm.
“I feel like every every time the Argos are on, you get a text, ‘Did you see what Janarion just did?’ My dad, especially,” Collaros said.
“I’m obviously happy for him and for the Argonauts, for what he brings to the table. He’s just an unbelievable player. So strong, so fearless, so fast. All those things that make up a great returner.”
Leave the hair alone!
Grant’s made a ton of headlines and highlight reels for his return touchdowns, but they do come at a cost. Last week against the Tiger-Cats, Grant had one of his dreadlocks pulled from his head on a return. The detached hair sat at the side of the Argos’ bench after it happened.
“I just saw the aftermath,” Grant said of the play. “I saw one of my dreads were missing. I just wrapped it up and was ready to go the next play.”
Grant’s actually had his hair pulled on two returns now this year.
“I’ve just got to tie my hair up now, everybody’s going to be grabbing it now. Tuck it into the shoulder pads or something,” he said, laughing.