There are seven major awards getting handed out at Thursday’s CFL Awards.
Five of them are likely to go to guys who will be on the field at McMahon Stadium for Sunday’s Grey Cup.
If there’s ever been a year where the league’s marquee players happen to be competing under the CFL’s brightest spotlights, it’s this one.
Just look at the list.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats receiver Brandon Banks is basically a lock to win the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player Award, with all due respect to the other nominee, Saskatchewan Roughriders QB Cody Fajardo. Banks led the CFL in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and receptions. He should win, and he’s got a big role to play in the Grey Cup.
Ticats linebacker Simoni Lawrence is going up against Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson for Most Outstanding Defensive Player, just 72 hours before their teams take the field to compete for the championship.
There’s more, too.
The Bombers’ Stanley Bryant and the Ticats’ Chris Van Zeyl are both up for Most Outstanding Lineman. Hamilton’s Frankie Williams and Winnipeg’s Mike Miller are the nominees for Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.
Finally, Ticats head coach Orlondo Steinauer is nominated for Coach of the Year, where he’s competing with Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson.
If you looked at the list of CFL Awards nominees and knew absolutely nothing about the league, you’d probably pick the Bombers and Ticats as the most likely teams to be playing in the Grey Cup, right?
There’s a couple ways of looking at what, if anything, the presence of so many award nominees might mean.
Maybe the voters got things right this year? It’s possible — as a voter myself, though, I probably shouldn’t say that — or maybe it’s just that we’re in for a fun game with some really impactful players.
“Any time you get a game like that, it’s going to bring the best out of you and you’re going to compete hard and it’s going to be a great show for the fans and everybody else,” Banks said. “You’ve got a defensive player of the year and an offensive player of the year playing against one another. I mean, what else would you want?”
There are a couple categories where guys not competing in the Grey Cup will get their names called.
Calgary Stampeders linebacker Nate Holley will almost certainly beat Montreal Alouettes receiver Jake Wieneke for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie award, while it’s a toss-up between the Riders’ Cameron Judge and the Als’ Henoc Muamba for Most Outstanding Canadian.
There are also a number of other awards where the nominees haven’t been announced, including The Commissioner’s Award, the Jake Gaudaur Veterans’ Award, the Tom Pate Memorial Award, the Hugh Campbell Distinguished Leadership Award and the inaugural Jane Mawby Tribute Award.
But by-and-large, this figures to be a night that is dominated by the two teams representing their respective divisions in Sunday’s big game.
If nothing else, it’ll be a marketing dream for the CFL to have their stars march across the Scotiabank Saddledome stage on Thursday night to receive individual awards before rushing onto the field on Sunday to compete with their teammates for the biggest trophy in Canadian domestic sport.
“That’s how it’s gotta come down,” Jefferson said. “No. 1 defence vs. No. 1 offence. That’s what you want in the Grey Cup.”
ON HIS WAY?
Could we get a June Jones sighting at the Grey Cup?
The former Tiger-Cats head coach stepped aside this past off-season to allow Steinauer to take over and then took a job as the boss of the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks.
We haven’t really heard from him since he was up in Canada, but Banks confirmed that they’d spoken on Tuesday and Jones might be making an appearance in Calgary this weekend.
“I got a text from him last night,” Banks said. “Just congratulating me on everything. He’s actually trying to get up here for Sunday’s game, that’s what he told me, but just congratulated me for everything and I told him thank you for everything.”
Junes played a pivotal role in turning around the Ticats over the past couple of seasons so it would be fitting for him to take part in the team’s Grey Cup celebrations if they were to win. It certainly doesn’t seem like Steinauer would feel threatened by his presence, either, so you get the feeling the Ticats would be thrilled to see Jones stop by.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
