The Saskatchewan Roughrider nominees for the CFL Awards were announced today. This year’s nominees are: Naaman Roosevelt (Outstanding Player), Otha Foster (Outstanding Defensive Player), Tyler Crapigna (Outstanding Canadian & Outstanding Special Teams Player), Thaddeus Coleman (Outstanding Offensive Lineman), and Justin Cox (Outstanding Rookie).
NAAMAN ROOSEVELT
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
First nomination as Most Outstanding Player…started all 11 regular season games played before suffering a season ending injury…registered 76 receptions for 1,095 yards and two touchdowns…was named a CFL Top Performer for week five after registering a season high 182 receiving yards…surpassed 100-yards receiving in five games…averaged 14.4 yards per catch with an 89-yard long…last Roughrider to win CFL Most Outstanding Player was Kerry Joseph in 2007.
OTHA FOSTER
MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER
First career nomination as Most Outstanding Defensive Player…first season with the Riders after signing as a free agent in February…has started all 17 regular season games…currently sits second on the team with 66 defensive tackles…has also collected five knockdowns, four tackles for loss, three quarterback sacks, two special teams tackles, one interception and one forced fumble…last Roughrider to win CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player was John Chick in 2009.
TYLER CRAPIGNA
MOST OUTSTANDING CANADIAN
MOST OUTSTANDING SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER
First career nominations as Most Outstanding Canadian and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player…has played 15 regular season games…missed weeks seven and eight due to injury…connected on 35 of 40 field goal attempts (87.5%) with a 53-yard long…made 20 of 23 converts…has 127 total points…the last Rider to win CFL Outstanding Canadian was Andy Fantuz in 2010…the last Rider to win CFL Most Outstanding Special Teams Player was Corey Holmes in 2005.
THADDEUS COLEMAN
MOST OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
First career nomination as Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman…has started all 17 regular season games…played the first 14 games at right tackle, before moving over to left tackle…last Rider to win CFL Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman was Brendon LaBatte in 2013.
JUSTIN COX
MOST OUTSTANDING ROOKIE
Signed with the Riders as a free agent in May, 2016…started all 15 games played…has a team leading four interceptions…also registered 42 defensive tackles, nine knockdowns, three tackles for loss, two special teams tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery…last Rider to win CFL Most Outstanding Rookie was Weston Dressler in 2008.
The players were selected by voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) and CFL head coaches.
In this first ballot, FRC representatives from each CFL city plus the respective head coach submitted votes for the six categories. Voters were asked to select players from their local CFL club who, through on-field performance excellence, best represent the awards’ titled – Most Outstanding Player, Most Outstanding Canadian Player, Most Outstanding Defensive Player, Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman, Most Outstanding Rookie, and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.
The East and West Division winners for the 2016 CFL Awards will be announced on Thursday, November 10th.
