There isn’t a gig in football with a more black-and-white bottom line than placekicker.

Simply put, a field-goal attempt goes through the uprights – some 18 feet, six inches apart – or it does not.

It’s a pass/fail, yay/nay profession where the results can mean absolute glory or pure hell for the kicker, for his teammates, for his coaches and, by extension, every citizen in the team’s fan base.

So, let’s just say this when evaluating the work of Sergio Castillo in 2023 – any time a guy breaks a record previously held by hall of famer Justin Medlock for field goal percentage in a single season, well, that constitutes a pair of hearty thumbs up from everyone in Bomberland.

It’s with that serving as a backdrop that we begin our annual Positional Preview series leading into Blue Bombers main training camp – opening May 12th — and with our eyes fixed today on The Specialists.

Castillo, for the record, connected on 46 of 51 field goal attempts last year for a percentage of 90.2, eclipsing Medlock’s mark of 89.4, set in 2018. And as a reminder, Castillo wasn’t even added to the club’s roster until May 4^th last year – just days ahead of training camp – and mere hours after his surprising release by the Edmonton Elks.

Most importantly, Castillo’s addition provided stability to a position that had been so inconsistent under Marc Liegghio in 2022, when he finished seventh among the nine placekickers in the Canadian Football League with a percentage of just 82.1, while also handling the punting chores.

Castillo signed a one-year contract to remain with the club in late February and his return brings some stability to the Blue Bombers collection of specialists. Veteran long-snapper Mike Benson – now 36 and with 139 regular-season games to his name in his career – is back, as is punter Jamieson Sheahan, who was named the team’s Most Outstanding Rookie after posting a 46.3-yard average and finishing second in the league with nine punts placed inside the opposition’s 10-yard line.

There is a massive question mark amongst this group, however — and go ahead and accuse us of burying the lede here – as ace kick returner Janarion Grant was not re-signed in free agency and the 30-year-old currently remains unattached to any CFL team.

Grant, the club’s all-time leader in return touchdowns, led the team in punt and kickoff return yards last year despite appearing in just eight games due to injury. He was squeezed out in free agency, however, as management prioritized re-signing starters like Brady Oliveira, Dalton Schoen, Brandon Alexander, Stanley Bryant, Willie Jefferson, Pat Neufeld, Deatrick Nichols, Drew Wolitarsky, Chris Kolankowski, Redha Kramdi, Jake Thomas, and Cam Lawson.

That opens the door for a new face to potentially get a ton of touches this offseason in the return game and the Blue Bombers have spent the winter adding a number of candidates – eight in total at this writing – not including those already on the roster who may also get a shot.

That list includes:

• Peter Afful – Attended mini-camp with Kansas City Chiefs last year and was a two-time Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association all-star at Division II Washburn University.
• Ronnie Blackmon – Spent some time on the practice roster last year after first being brought to the CFL by Montreal. Played collegiately at Colorado, Toledo and West Georgia.
• Kody Case – Was in camp with the Indianapolis Colts in 2023 and has some return experience from his college days at South Dakota.
• Aaron Cruickshank – Was a star returner at Rutgers as the Big Ten’s return specialist of the year in 2020 and had NFL looks from Chicago and Pittsburgh.
• Chris Smith – Pro stints with Seattle and San Antonio (2023) and was a star running back at Louisiana-Lafayette, where he handled kickoff return responsibilities and scored twice.
• Josh Johnson – Comes to the Bombers from the USFL and a stretch on the Detroit Lions practice squad and played his college ball at Iowa State and Tulsa.
• Montrae Braswell – Signed with the Chiefs last year as an undrafted free agent before a look from Seattle. A defensive back, he starred as a corner and returner for Missouri State and had three punt return yards of 100, 96 and 98 yards during his days there.
• Myron Mitchell –Spring league experience with the Birmingham Stallions and spent time on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad. Handled return chores in his two years at Alabama-Birmingham.

In the end, the bottom line here with respect to the Blue Bombers specialists is a simple one: Castillo, Benson and Sheahan offer a great deal of comfort for the Bombers and the fan base. Yet it’s the size-large question mark left by Grant’s departure which will be one of the main storylines in camp and into the ’24 season.

POSITIONAL PREVIEW ’24

THE SPECIALISTS

The returnees:

Placekicker: Sergio Castillo
Punter: Jamieson Sheahan
Long-snapper: Mike Benson

Keep an eye on:

K Jose Borregales, #49

The Bombers weren’t certain they were going to get Castillo’s name on a contract heading into free agency and to cover themselves added an intriguing kicking prospect in Borregales in January.

He earned a look from Tampa Bay, spending 2021 on their practice roster, and at Florida International University he was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award as the best kicker in the NCAA in 2018. Two years later and after transferring to Miami he was a unanimous All-American while capturing Groza honours.

Did you know?

The Blue Bombers were once again the least-penalized team on special teams in 2023, an honour they’ve held for each of the last four years. The foot soldiers were nailed with 30 penalties in 2019, 19 in 2021 (in 14 games), 14 in 2022 and 21 last season.

Notable Number(s)

Three numbers new special teams coordinator Mike Miller will want to see boosted in 2024:

• The Blue Bombers net punting average was 35.2 yards, second worst in the CFL, but only 2.7 yards off league-leaders Montreal.
• Winnipeg allowed an average of 13.2 yards per punt return last year, tied with Saskatchewan for worst in the league. Winnipeg also allowed 24.8 yards per kickoff return, second worst in the CFL.
• With Grant missing 10 games, the return game suffered. Winnipeg had just eight ‘big play’ returns a year ago – a stat the league quantifies as punt returns 30 yards or more and kickoff returns of 40 yards or more. That ranked eighth in the CFL, with Hamilton first at 17.