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The day after a memorable CFL debut, during which he scored two punt return touchdowns, Janarion Grant was in a somewhat sombre mood.

As happy as he was to have had such a great game overall, he was furious at himself for giving a ball away in the second quarter.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Touchdowns are nice, but Bombers punt returner Grant is more proud of his ball security Back to video

The fumble didn’t end up costing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers any points, but it weighed on Grant, who believed he lost a job in the NFL because he couldn’t hang on to the football.

It was his third professional game and his third fumble and that’s not a good stat for a kick returner.

“He was bummed after that game,” Bombers special teams co-ordinator Paul Boudreau said Wednesday after the team practised at IG Field.

“He was a little disappointed in the meeting, which is good. He understood how important that situation was.”

Since that day, Grant has had nothing to be down about.

The 25-year-old former Baltimore Raven has played just five CFL games and he’s already the leading punt returner in the league, with an average of 21.4 yards per return, and three touchdowns. Four of his 18 returns have been for more than 30 yards and he had a 72-yard touchdown in the Bombers most recent game — a 35-10 beatdown of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the annual Banjo Bowl.