By Bob Marjanovich
The Canadian Football League has announced its nominees for this season’s Most Outstanding Player Awards and we’ve decided to break it all down for you from a B.C. Lions perspective.
All of the statistics provided are those heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER: B.C. nominee – Nathan Rourke
It’s pretty much a given that Rourke will be the Western nominee while Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell will be the Eastern rep.
There isn’t much to chose from when looking at the passing numbers as Rourke (4,922 yards passing with 29 touchdowns) and Mitchell (5,032 yards passing with 34 touchdowns) are very close but it should be noted that Rourke played two fewer games due to injury.
What should sway this in Rourke’s favor is his ability to run the ball as he’s rushed for 559 yards – the eighth best total in the CFL.
WINNER: Nathan Rourke
MOST OUTSTANDING CANADIAN: B.C. nominee – Nathan Rourke
So if Rourke wins the Most Outstanding Player Award, how can you not vote for him as the CFL’s best Canadian player?
There are several players that have had outstanding seasons such as Montreal’s Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, Winnipeg’s Brady Oliveira and Saskatchewan’s A.J. Allen, but this should be a win for Rourke.
WINNER: Nathan Rourke
MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER: B.C. nominee – Mathieu Betts
This one should be interesting. Saskatchewan linebacker Jameer Thurman is a worthy candidate with 85 tackles, three interceptions and three sacks to his credit.
Adeyemi-Berglund, Calgary’s Clarence Hicks and Hamilton’s Julian Howsare all have 11 sacks to their credit as well. The thing that Betts has going for him is recency bias as he has recorded 10 of his 14 sacks during the Lions’ current five-game win streak.
WINNER: Mathieu Betts
MOST OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: B.C. nominee – Jarrel Broxton
If you are to believe the folks at Pro Football Focus or 3Down Nation’s J.C. Abbott, Broxton should be a slam-dunk winner.
First the facts, as PFF named Broxton as the CFL’s highest-graded o-lineman for August and September. The Lions offensive line has allowed the fewest quarterback sacks (18) in the league and has averaged over 30 points per game.
Broxton has been one of the biggest reasons why.
There are other worthy candidates such as Saskatchewan’s Jermarcus Hardrick and Winnipeg’s Stanley Bryant but the numbers back Broxton.
Unfortunately, hometown biases do come into play.
WINNER: Too close to call.
MOST OUTSTANDING SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER: B.C. nominee – Sean Whyte
All Whyte has done is go 39 for 41 in field goal attempts with walk-off field goals in Montreal and Hamilton.
Unfortunately for Whyte, his efficiency doesn’t make him sexy enough for voters. Sexy is Winnipeg returner Trey Vaval, who combined for 2,266 yards in the return game in 2025.
The Bombers rookie also returned four kicks for touchdowns this season making him the odds-on favorite to win this award.
WINNER: Trey Vaval
MOST OUTSTANDING ROOKIE: B.C. nominee – Robert Carter Jr.
The Lions cornerback has been a human highlight reel this season with an amazing one-handed interception in a game against Hamilton and then a pick-six and a blow-up hit last week against Edmonton topping the list.
The rookie from Robert Morris has continued to get better as the season progresses to the point where he was the second-highest rated defensive back for his performance against the Elks.
His toughest challenge will come from Vaval but I believe that playing on defense should carry more weight than contributions on special teams.
WINNER: Should be Carter but it wouldn’t surprise me if Vaval wins.
TOM PATE MEMORIAL AWARD: B.C. nominee – Andrew Peirson
Although not part of the mainstream awards, this award is given to a player who exemplifies outstanding sportsmanship and who has made a significant contribution to his team and his community.
I believe that all the nominated players should be recognized for their contributions to their respective communities so props to Dom Rymes (Calgary), Nyles Morgan (Edmonton), Micah Johnson (Saskatchewan), Brady Oliveira (Winnipeg), Kenny Lawler (Hamilton), Anthony Lanier II (Toronto), Tyron Vrede (Ottawa) and Geoffrey Cantin-Arku (Montreal) for giving back.
It’s players like these that make the CFL special.
EXTRA POINTS:
* The Lions (10-7) finish their season in Regina versus the Roughriders (12-5) on Saturday at 4 p.m. (TSN; CKNW 730; Sher E Punjab Radio AM 600).
* If the Lions win, they will host Calgary in the Western Semi-Final on Saturday, Nov. 1. A loss, however, complicates things. A combination of Calgary and Winnipeg winning means the Lions would crossover to the East and in all likelihood play Montreal.
A B.C. loss – combined with either Winnipeg or Calgary losing would result in the Lions going to Calgary. In the highly unlikely occurrence of all three teams losing, B.C. would host Calgary.
* The Lions head into Regina relatively healthy with defensive tackle Jonah Tavai (thigh) the only starter who will probably miss the game.
If Tavai can’t play, expect fellow defensive tackle Tomasi Laulile to take his spot.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob “the Moj” Marjanovich writes about the B.C. sporting scene for Black Press Media. This column is brought to you by:
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