CFL Insights: Diontae Spencer setting the record straight

OTTAWA — The Ottawa REDBLACKS knew they were getting a jolt of lightning when they ventured into free agency and signed slippery receiver/return man Diontae Spencer.

Spencer has been all of that and more for Rick Campbell’s team in 2017, currently ranking second in the CFL with 2,759 combined yards while helping Ottawa challenge for top spot in the East Division.

But the absolute best of that was saved for Week 19, when the REDBLACKS hosted the Ticats at TD Place. Needing a victory to stay alive in the hunt for the division, Spencer set an all-time record for the most combined yards in a regular season game with 496:

Although he came up just shy of the never-before-seen 500-yard milestone, Spencer passed former Bombers returner Albert Johnson III for the best single-game effort (Johnson had 474 combined yards for the Bombers on July 21, 2000). Johnson had 321 yards in that outing, similar to Spencer’s 363 yards vs. Hamilton.

Yet both returners had to have outstanding performances on offence, too, in order to accomplish the record-breaking feat. While Johnson had 153 receiving yards, Spencer offered up 133 yards through the air to help beat the Ticats last weekend.

In the end, Spencer’s outing marked only the sixth time in CFL history that a player has gained more than 400 combined yards in a regular season CFL game, putting him in truly rarefied air:

While 2017 has been a productive one for Spencer, he’s still a long way off from Chad Owens’ single-season record of 3,863 combined yards in a season set in 2012. But there’s always next year, and hey, maybe Mike ‘Pinball’ Clemons’ long-standing record of 25,438 career all-purpose yards (1989-2000) could at least be dreamed of.

After all, Spencer is only 25 and has plenty of gas in the tank.

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