I will get to the awards in a moment, but first I must talk about the man, Trey Vaval. At the CFL Awards, I first chatted with Trey as he came down the red carpet. And while he may look rough around the edges, I found him to be anything but that. He was soft spoken, courteous, and respectful.

I had another chance to speak with Trey after the event, and after he won both awards…and guess what? Still the same guy. Humble, gentle, and respectful.

That says a lot for a guy who did not grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth! “He remembers how ‘home base’ next became the laundry room at a family friend’s house. And from there how they would occasionally bounce around from crashing in the storage container holding their possessions some nights to others where he would settle in at a teammate’s house after football practice while his mom and sister slept in the car. “I still remember that laundry room,” began Vaval, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers gifted kick returner/cornerback in a recent chat with bluebombers.com. “I remember all of us — me, my sister, my mom and the two dogs we had at the time — all crammed into that space. I remember the mattress we all shared; all of us on that mattress. (Read that whole story here).

Yet, Trey did in life what we saw him do on the football field, find a way to make good on the opportunities you have. And make good he did with the Bombers this year. Trey had 4 return touchdowns. That is why Vaval was named the Most Outstanding Special Teams Player. Couple on that, Trey also had 21 defensive tackles, four special teams tackles and an interception in his rookie campaign. That is also part of why he won the Most Outstanding Rookie. Not to be over looked, this is something that has only ever been done twice before in the CFL; Lewis Ward (Ottawa, 2018) and Albert Johnson III (Winnipeg, 2000).

I will be the first to admit it, I was critical of Vaval early on in 2025. There were a couple of returns that he did not field cleanly…and in the past, Winnipeg did not seem to keep those guys on the roster. But something was different with Vaval. In fact, one could make a realistic argument that he won Winnipeg some games this year.

So what was on with Vaval earlier on this season? I do not know. I felt it would have been distasteful to ask him that, particularly on a night where he took home two awards! But maybe, just maybe, those drops were him just settling into his role. You will remember that Vaval only signed with the Bombers in February of 2025. Regardless, the Bombers saw something in Vaval early this season that I missed. And I can assure you that Bomber fans are happy I was wrong, and that the Bombers and Vaval were so right!

What did you think? Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this.

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