Dalton Schoen attacked the line of scrimmage in full gallop, busted a move to his left and then latched onto a 40-yard strike from Zach Collaros before toe-tapping along the sideline.
It was a play that brought oohs and aahs from his Winnipeg Blue Bombers teammates and, undoubtedly, pure joy from Collaros — the man who had made him the Canadian Football League’s most-dangerous receiver over the 2022-23 seasons before a knee injury 10 quarters into his 2024 campaign ended his campaign.
Jogging his way back across the field after the play, teammate Nic Demski bellowed, ‘That s–t feels good, eh Dalton?’
“It was good to be out here in general, but then to connect on a deeper corner ball, which has kind of been my bread and butter up here over the last few years… It’s good,” said Schoen with a grin after practice Tuesday. “It feels like I’m back.”
Schoen entered last year with astonishing numbers over his first 34 games in the CFL, including 141 receptions for 2,663 yards and a jaw-dropping 26 touchdowns. On top of that, close to half of his catches were second-down conversions, highlighting not just how valuable he was in the score zone, but in just keeping the offence on the field.
Clearly, it was also no coincidence that the offensive passing numbers dropped so dramatically a year ago.
But those are numbers everyone can dive into and revisit in a few weeks when the curtain lifts on the 2025 season. In the right here and right now it was powerful stuff just to see #83 out there doing his thing again after the mental and physical torment he went through after his injury.
“When you miss an extended period of time it’s the worst,” he said. “So, to get be back out here with the guys and playing football again is awesome. It really is the worst. It can be a little bit isolating because you’re operating on a whole different schedule than the rest of the team.
“Luckily, we’ve got a great culture here and guys pick you up and there were other guys going through that with me last year as well (Jamal Parker, Jr. and Cam Lawson). So, you kind of become a different little position group.
“But it’s just tough when you’re in the meetings watching the installs or doing whatever you can, but then at the end of the day you’ve still got to be on the sideline to watch. It’s hard to see your teammates go through so much work and do all the stuff that they do, and there’s nothing you can do to really help.”
That’s what made the last two days both so important and so uplifting for everyone in Bomberland. Schoen was back at his post and is being rewarded for all those hours of rehab, of lifting and running to get healthy again some 10 months since the injury.
“A lot of it is a mental grind, especially those early days. Like I said, it’s isolating. It’s the people around you that boost your spirits. And as you get further along in the process and your body’s healing, starting to feel better, then you can try to help out other guys where you can by sitting there and watching film with the quarterbacks and or watching film with the receivers and say, ‘Hey, if I saw this, I’d run like that’ or just to try to contribute in any way you can.”
Now his contributions will come between the white stripes again. Schoen’s return was a spirit lifter around these parts over the last couple of days.
And no one’s spirit was soaring more than his own.
“You know, sometimes — and I’m guilty of this myself — guys are quick to complain about the grind of training camp or the grind of practices,” said Schoen. “And then the second you’re gone, you’re like, ‘Man, I’d give anything for that right now.’ And so, it does put things in perspective. Now you’re like, ‘Man, what was I complaining about before?”
WORDS DON’T DO IT JUSTICE: The Blue Bombers punt return session has become must-see over the last few days, what with defensive tackle and Willie Jefferson hooting, hollering and waving their arms before getting down in a defensive stance to attack the line of scrimmage before the punter lets fly. ‘High-energy, high-volume’ doesn’t begin to describe it.
So, what the heck is going on with that?
“He is a master distractor,” said head coach Mike O’Shea of the Adams’ antics. “So, any time there are calls to be made (by the punting unit lining up protection), he does a great job of making sure it’s tougher on the group to try and make the calls. You see him and Willie out there running ‘look team’ drills and when you get those guys in there then nobody else has an excuse not to do it, too.
“It’s pretty neat stuff to have your leaders out there running all the team stuff.”
FYI: RT Eric Lofton returned to practice on Tuesday, but the number of players held out was long in receivers Nic Demski, Jerreth Sterns, David Wallis, Bryson Daughtry, Gavin Cobb, RB Brady Oliveira, OL Brayden Keim and DBs Josh Hagerty and Ethan Ball.
NEXT: The Blue Bombers are scheduled to be back practising at Princess Auto Stadium Wednesday morning from 8:30-11:25 a.m. All practices are open to the public unless otherwise indicated.
