RICHMOND, Virginia -- Trenton Cannon returned one punt his entire senior season at Virginia State. He ran it back for 15 yards.
Cannon, a running back who excelled in almost every other area of football, has never been a punt returner, but it’s one of the reasons the New York Jets made him a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft.
“I never did it up until now,” Cannon said Monday at the Redskins-Jets joint practices. “They think I can be a weapon at this level.”
It was a big homecoming for Cannon, who practiced in front of a crowd that included some of his college coaches and teammates, as well as his mom.
His NFL journey started shortly after winning the Lanier Award as the state’s best small college player.
In preparation for the draft, he spent time learning how to catch a punt, in case he would be asked to do that at the NFL level.
The day after his pro day, Jets special teams coach Brant Boyer lined up a special workout for Cannon, in part devoted to punt returns. He nailed it, and now the Jets are training him to be the team’s No. 3 running back, as well as a kick and punt returner.
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