Edmonton Journal
Chris O’Leary
Joe Burnett will stick to his busy ways for at least one more week.
The Edmonton Eskimo cornerback had triple-duty in the team’s 42-10 win last Friday over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He played defence as well as returned kicks and punts. The 25-year-old gave the Eskimo special teams its best offensive performance in the young Canadian Football League season, with two kicks brought back for 41 yards and five punts that turned into 107 yards.
Eskimo head coach Kavis Reed said his message for Burnett going into Friday’s game against the BC Lions was straightforward.
“It’s to be smart,” Reed said. “It’s really to go out and do the things we ask him to do. We’re going to ask him to do some returns, that’s no secret, but he’s a defensive back for us. We want him to make sure his focus is on that.
“We’ll monitor his fatigue level in terms of returning and playing defensive back. We’ll interchange him as a returner, but we’re counting on him as a defensive back.”
Burnett, who added his first career interception on Friday, said he was ready for the task at hand.
“I think (playing in) my first CFL game, it actually hit me how quick the game is, how much you run, how wide the field is,” Burnett said. “So I did a lot of extra running and getting conditioning in. Once you get your second wind, I think you’re OK from there.”
Burnett could have some help in the coming weeks. The Eskimos announced on Thursday that they’d signed import returner Tony Logan to a practice roster deal. The 22-year-old played at Maryland, where he led the ACC and was third in the United States with 18.1 yards per return in 2011.
“Tony had a very productive career returning punts in the highly respected Atlantic Coast Conference and he comes highly recommended by (Eskimo head scout) Ed Hervey,” Eskimo general manager Eric Tillman said in a news release.
“We attempted to sign Tony right after the NFL draft, but he accepted an opportunity to attend mini-camp with the St. Louis Rams. Now that Tony has agreed to join our practice roster, our coaches are eager to see him compete.”
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