Video: Jamal Miles’ return shows he’s one of the Eskimos’ few bright spots going forward

It wasn't a great season for the Edmonton Eskimos, who finished 4-14 and fired head coach Kavis Reed Monday, but there were a few bright spots. One was the play of quarterback Mike Reilly, a high-profile offseason acquisition who lived up to the hype and turned in great performances despite the year-long struggles of his offensive line, the numerous illegal hits he took and his own team's decision to handicap him. Another was the showing from returner/running back Jamal Miles, a rookie out of Arizona State. Miles provided a great example of what he can do on returns in a win over Saskatchewan Saturday, as you can see from this video:

That's a remarkable 79-yard punt return for a touchdown, and what perhaps stands out about it most is the display of athletic ability Miles puts on. This isn't a play like Chevon Walker's 70-yard touchdown dash from the same weekend, where a deceptively-designed play left few players with a shot at him; numerous Roughriders have a chance to bring down Miles, but he's able to burst right through the crowd without being brought down. He shows off speed early on, bursting up the middle between punt-team gunners, then turns to elusiveness. The Eskimos do a great job of blocking, but there are still at least three players who come close to tackling him; Miles manages to evade them, though, working his way over to the sideline, staying inbounds and juking away from those who come after him. It's an outstanding return, and one that shows off what he can do. It deservedly led to his selection as our special teams player of the week.

This wasn't a one-off, either. Miles has produced plenty of terrific returns this year, collecting 389 yards on 36 punt returns (10.8 yards per attempt) and 661 yards on 29 kick returns (22.8 yards per attempt). This was his first touchdown of the season, but he's shown lots of promise. He might have a bigger role to play in the offence going forward too, as he's averaged 7.2 yards per carry (on six carries) as a running back and 11 yards per catch (on two catches) as a receiver. The 5'9'', 188-pound Miles isn't the biggest guy out there, but he can certainly be difficult to bring down. The Riders' kick coverage team can testify to that.