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Published Jun 03, 2026 • Last updated 7 minutes ago • 6 minute read
Tyreik McAllister
Returner Tyreik McAllister was a prized off-season acquisition for the Calgary Stampeders. Photo by Gavin Young /Postmedia
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Bigger and better … The Calgary Stampeders hope those two words go hand and hand with their special-teams units in the 2026 Canadian Football League season.
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In an effort to help them net more yards on return and coverage teams, Dave Dickenson and his right-hand men deliberately signed and drafted players to help improve their special teams rather than leave it to chance they unearth aces originally meant to help on offence and defence.
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Players such as return star Tyreik McAllister — a prized off-season acquisition — and 2026 draftees Jesulayomi Ojutalayo and Tristan Marois fit the bill as already being special teams-ready.
“We had speed and aggressiveness,” said Stampeders GM/head coach Dickenson. “But what we were trying to do is just get bigger, and I think we have got a nice lineup where that’s concerned now.
“Usually bigger means you’re not maybe quite as fast. But I think just in a one-on-one matchup probably with special teams, that’s where bigger helps us.”
You’ll see the size difference — and hopefully the difference in quality — in both returns and coverage, with the Stamps hoping it helps prop them up in their bid for the Grey Cup come November on their home turf.
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Jesulayomi Ojutalayo
2026 draftee Jesulayomi Ojutalayo’s primary focus to start the season will be going downfield and covering kickoffs. Photo by ROBERT LEE /Special to Postmedia
After all, special teams are one-third of the CFL game.
“And our return game now, you really don’t know until you see it live — like will our guys run through the smoke?” continued Dickenson. “What I mean by that is you’ve got a lot of people coming after you, so can you find a crease and just hit it? I think our guys have shown that courage and have done a nice job in camp.”
Whether that carries over into the regular season remains to be seen.
But we’ll find out quickly, with the season-opener just hours away Friday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at McMahon Stadium (7 p.m., QR Calgary 770 AM, TSN) …
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[Calgary Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. launches a deep pass during practice at McMahon Stadium on May 12.
Stampeders offence in 2026: The skinny, the starters, the questions ...](https://calgaryherald.com/sports/football/cfl/calgary-stampeders/stampeders-offence-in-2026-the-skinny-the-starters-the-questions)
2. [The Calgary Stampeders battle the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Pre=seasn action at McMahon stadium in Calgary on Monday, May 18, 2026. Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia
Stampeders defence in 2026: The skinny, the starters, the questions ...](https://calgaryherald.com/sports/stampeders-defence-in-2026-the-skinny-the-starters-the-questions)
WHO ARE THE PROJECTED STARTERS?
Here’s what the key special-team talents look like when healthy (with injury replacements in parentheses) …
Kicker — René Paredes (Jude McAtamney)
Punter — Mark Vassett
Long-snapper — Jason MacGougan
Returner — Tyreik McAllister
Returner — Erik Brooks
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WHO’S IN? WHO’S OUT?
In
• K Jude McAtamney
• RB Tyreik McAllister
Out
• WR Kaylon Horton
• LS Aaron Crawford
René Paredes
René Paredes continued to be sidelined heading into Friday’s season-opener, although Stamps GM/head coach Dave Dickenson did expect the veteran kicker to play. Photo by Darren Makowichuk /Postmedia
WHAT ARE THE KEY QUESTIONS ON SPECIAL TEAMS?
• What’s going on with René Paredes?
The veteran kicker hasn’t booted many balls so far this spring. A groin injury kept him from doing much through training camp, and he’s continued to be sidelined heading into Friday’s contest.
That’s led to plenty of hubbub about the future hall-of-famer’s availability and even what comes next for him, especially given he’s 41 with nothing left to prove.
But …
“I do expect him to play,” said Dickenson, early this week. “I’d be surprised if that wasn’t the case.”
If it isn’t the case, the Stamps have 26-year-old global draftee Jude McAtamney kicking around. Active for a couple of games with the NFL’s New York Giants a few years back, the native of Northern Ireland has landed on the Red and White practice roster, perhaps as the kicker of the future for the franchise.
• What does runback specialist Tyreik McAllister bring?
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The 5-foot-9, 183-lb. dynamo brings the hope for more house calls in the return game.
“We really did want home-run, top-end speed,” said Dickenson, of signing McAllister in the off-season.
McAllister played 16 games for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2023, when he recorded 41 kickoff returns for 1,037 yards, 56 punt returns for 602 yards and seven missed-field goal returns for 408 yards.
By comparison, last year’s leader for the Stampeders — Erik Brooks — combined for 1,000 yards in returns.
“I wanted to back off Erik a little bit,” said Dickenson, of Brooks. “I think Erik certainly can do it.”
But he’s a vital piece of the receiving game, after a breakout year in 2025 with 51 receptions and 824 yards. Brooks will be asked to continue that with veteran pass-catcher Reggie Begelton continuing to be sidelined by injury.
“And with Tyreik … I think he’s going to press to be as good as anyone in the league,” added Dickenson. “Tyreik also gives us a running back with more versatility, gives us a different type of running back in there (compared to workhorse Dedrick Mills).”
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Mark Vassett
Punter Mark Vassett is coming off being an all-CFL star in his rookie year. Photo by Darren Makowichuk /Postmedia
• Who are the other key contributors on special teams?
Punter Mark Vassett was an all-CFL star in his rookie season last year. That’s a nice debut and a fantastic foundation piece moving forward for the Stampeders, who made the Australian a global draft pick last spring.
Fellow Aussie Bailey Devine-Scott is another massive contributor and deemed the captain of the coverage units by Dickenson. However, he’s already on the six-game injury list after suffering a pre-camp injury.
“But Godfrey Onyeka and Tevin Jones did a nice job last year,” said Dickenson, of coverage aces. “And Kelon Thomas, too.
“And then our linebacker corps, too. I mean … Kyle Wilson did a heck of a job last year, and Kelechi (Anyalebechi), too. I think linebackers are the key cover players.”
And Jason MacGougan takes on long-snapping duties for a full season after taking over for longtime veteran Aaron Crawford in 2025.
HOW DO SPECIAL TEAMS HOPE TO IMPROVE?
Of course, it’s all about getting better field position …
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Both when receiving the ball and booting it away.
“With Tyreik, we’ve got to let him get started,” said Dickenson, of his team’s return game. “We want to give him five to 10 yards and give him a crease — don’t have people just surrounding him when he gets the ball.
“I think that was the big thing in the off-season — we wanted to find bigger guys to block and to try to get the play started.”
They’re bigger, too, in coverage, which proved to be a strength for the club last season until it got roughed in the playoff game — that could-woulda-shoulda decision to the host BC Lions in the West Division semifinal.
“I feel like we addressed the biggest needs that showed up in the playoff game last year,” said Stamps director of scouting Dwayne Cameron post-draft. “Obviously, we played really well on offence, and we felt we played really well on defence. But we felt like maybe we got exposed a little bit on special teams. And so by adding players like (first-round draft-pick) Eric Rascoe and adding players like (Steven) Kpehe and adding players like ‘Layomi’ (Ojutalayo), whose primary focus is going downfield and covering kickoffs and punts, makes us a little more athletic and speedy in that area.”
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Godfrey Onyeka
Godfrey Onyeka says if everyone on the Stamps’ special-teams unit “does their 1/12th, we should be the best in the league.” Photo by Darren Makowichuk /Postmedia
Aces already starring on the coverage units welcome the influx of energy and size, citing fresh faces Marois, Anton Haie and R.J. Moten as potential breakout candidates in containing the enemy’s returners.
“We’ll be really good,” said Onyeka, when asked what the expectations are of the coverage units in 2026. “If everyone does their 1/12th, we should be the best in the league. We have great schemes — like our schemes aren’t very complicated, but they’re very comprehensive. Everyone has an exact job, and no one’s asking anyone to be Superman. You’ve just got to do your job in our scheme, and we’ll be good.
“Honestly, we’re chasing records, as crazy as it sounds about on special teams,” continued Onyeka. “We have a list of records that we want to get this year. We were like point-something yards away from net-point record last year, so we want to get that this year.
“There’s a few things we want to do. We didn’t have as many takeaways as we wanted to last year, so we’ve got to get that.”
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Onyeka himself led the Stamps in special-teams tackles with 17.
Next was Thomas, on 10.
“You know … it’s just embracing the role,” added Thomas. “When I first came here, you know, like I didn’t have the perfect idea of me playing special teams when I came into the CFL, but you just you never know where you’re gonna walk into. So it’s like, let’s go do the best I can do — help my team and fill every gap that can get back and do.
“Overall, we’re just trying to improve every record we can do — not just only for records, but just for ourselves, too.
“It’s be the best special-teams unit in the CFL.”
tsaelhof@postmedia.com
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Kelon Thomas
Kelon Thomas says the Stamps’ special-teamers are “trying to improve every record we can do — not just only for records, but just for ourselves, too.” Photo by Darren Makowichuk /Postmedia
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