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Esks staff

When A.J. Gass used to block on special teams for CFL Hall of Fame kick-returner Henry (Gizmo) Williams, the Eskimos expected to score a touchdown every time.

Williams, of course, scored a CFL-record 26 punt-return TDs during a 14-year career with the Eskimos between 1986-2000, as well as three more majors on kickoffs and two on missed field goals during the regular season.

“If you didn’t get Giz in the end zone, he was going to let you hear about it, so those type of things were expected,” recalled Gass, who returns to Edmonton after a 10-year absence to coach the Eskimos’ special teams in 2019. “That’s kind of we’re looking to do – create that expectation of when the ball is in our hands in the return game, and we’re going to get it in the end zone. … I’m hoping to inject some life into those return games.

The Eskimos haven’t scored a kick-return touchdown the past 3-1/2 seasons since Kendial Lawrence took a punt return 64 yards to the end zone on Aug. 28, 2015, against the Toronto Argonauts. Lawrence also had a 96-yard kickoff return for a TD in 2014.