Eskimos quarterback Reilly named league’s most outstanding player
Given the numbers Mike Reilly has put up in his eight years as a CFL quarterback, it’s hard to believe he’s never earned the league’s most outstanding player award.
On Thursday, voters recognized Reilly’s greatness with the honour for 2017.
“I love playing for Edmonton. I love putting on the green and gold every day,” Reilly said. “We’re incredibly lucky to play for the team that we do, the city we do.”
While Reilly’s Edmonton Eskimos had an up-and-down season that saw them fly out to a 7-0 record before dropping six straight games, the quarterback himself was rarely less than spectacular.
Always one of the league’s very best passers, Reilly reached a whole new level in 2017. The 32-year-old led the CFL in passing yards with 5,830 and rushing touchdowns with 12, and his 87.1 quarterback rating was also the league’s best.
While the Eskimos couldn’t overcome the Calgary Stampeders in last weekend’s West Division final, that wasn’t Reilly’s fault, as he completed 23 of 38 passes for 348 yards and one touchdown.
Reilly edged out Toronto Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray for this year’s honour.
COACH OF THE YEAR Marc Trestman, Toronto Argonauts
Marc Trestman may have been gone from the CFL for four years, but it didn’t take him long to remind the league why he was one of the most respected coaches around when he was with the Montreal Alouettes.
This year, Trestman took over the Argonauts’ head coaching job in February.
In 2016, they finished last in the East Division. Under Trestman’s tutelage in 2017, they ended the year as the division’s champions and got into Sunday’s Grey Cup against the Calgary Stampeders.
So thoroughly turning around a once-flourishing organization is no easy task, and it was enough to bump him ahead of Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson, who guided his team to the best record in the CFL for a second straight year.
“As much as I’m grateful for our players and coaches, it’s really hard for me to understand how in a team sport, any one person can be singled out in any way,” Trestman said. “Without the team, the individual is nothing.”
Trestman previously won the award in 2009 when he was with the Alouettes. The last Argos coach to win the award was Scott Milanovich in 2012.
MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER Alex Singleton, Calgary Stampeders
Alex Singleton was the best player on the league’s stingiest defence — a shoo-in as the CFL’s most outstanding defensive player, in other words.
The 23-year-old linebacker tallied 74 of 77 first-place votes and earned himself a fitting reward for a dominant season.
After bursting onto the scene last season as a rookie, Singleton was even better in 2017.
He set a new Canadian record for most tackles in a season with 123 — only B.C. Lions linebacker Solomon Elimimian had more — and anchored a defence that allowed a league-low 349 points.
“The guys around me are incredible, amazing athletes, amazing players,” Singleton said.
Singleton is the first Stampeders player to take home the CFL’s top defensive honour since 2005, when John Grace won. He’s also only the fifth Canadian to win the award and the first since Brent Johnson in 2006.
MOST OUTSTANDING CANADIAN Andrew Harris, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Some years, the most outstanding Canadian player award can feel like a consolation prize. Not this year.
Andrew Harris could have been the West Division’s nominee for most outstanding player. His 2017 season saw him become the first player in CFL history to rush for 1,000 yards and also finish with more than 850 receiving yards.
The definition of a dual threat, Harris carried the Bombers to second in the West Division while also setting the CFL record for receptions by a running back with 105.
“I wanna thank Winnipeg, my hometown, for bringing me home,” Harris said. “This has been the most fun playing football that I can remember.”
MOST OUTSTANDING ROOKIE James Wilder Jr. Toronto Argonauts
James Wilder Jr. didn’t even need a full season to pick up his first piece of CFL hardware.
While the Florida State product started 2017 mostly as a specialteams player for the Argos, he took off when he became the team’s starting running back for the final seven games of the regular season.
Once he got his stop, Wilder was a force to be reckoned with, rushing for 700 yards in those games and picking up 441 receiving yards.
“When I get back to the hotel room, I’ve gotta get back in some film,” Wilder said. “We’ve got a much bigger award to bring back to the entire city of Toronto.”
MOST OUTSTANDING SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER Roy Finch, Calgary Stampeders
This might have been the least suspenseful announcement of the evening. With all due respect to the Ottawa Redblacks’ Diontae Spencer, there was simply no special teams player who came close to Roy Finch.
His 1,200 punt return yards were the third most in a CFL season — trailing Henry Williams in 1991 and Chris Wright in 1995 — and he added three punt return touchdowns and recorded nine punt returns that exceeded 30 yards.
The Oklahoma Sooners product also added 696 kickoff return yards and became the first Stampeder since Rene Paredes in 2013 to win the award.
MOST OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE LINEMAN Stanley Bryant, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Stanley Bryant didn’t waste any time. Shortly after he was rewarded for his efforts with the CFL’s most outstanding offensive lineman award, Bryant was deferring to his teammates on the O-line.
“Those are my brothers … we’re one heartbeat,” Bryant said.
The North Carolina native became the first Blue Bomber to win the award since Dave Mudge did so in 2001.