TORONTO — Another year, another dual nomination for Brady Oliveira.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back is the West Division's nominee for the CFL's outstanding player and top Canadian. He was nominated for both awards last year, earning the top Canadian honour while being the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly as outstanding player.
Oliveira, the CFL's rushing leader this season with 1,354 yards, will again go head-to-head with a quarterback for the George Reed most outstanding player award. The East Division's nominee is Bo Levi Mitchell of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who led the league in passing (club-record 5,451 yards) and touchdowns (32).
The 27-year-old Winnipeg product also led the CFL in yards from scrimmage (1,829) for a second straight season and cracked the 1,000-yard rushing plateau for a third consecutive year.
The six-foot-two, 199-pound Mitchell — limited to just six regular-season games last year due to injuries — set a career-high in passing yards in 2024 as the CFL's only 5,000-yard passer. The 34-year-old Texan started 17 games, surpassing 300 yards 10 times and twice topping 400 years.
This marks Mitchell's fourth outstanding player nomination. He won the award in 2016 and '18 while with the Calgary Stampeders.
The East Division's nominee for top Canadian is defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes. The six-foot-two, 248-pound native of Dartmouth, N.S., recorded a career-high 36 tackles (with a league-best nine for loss) and a team-leading seven sacks, which was just one off the CFL lead.
Teammate Tyrice Beverette is the East Division's outstanding defensive player. The six-foot, 203-pound American posted a CFL-high 137 defensive plays, including 102 tackles — the first time he has reached the century mark — and eight for a loss.
Beverette also recorded five sacks, four forced fumbles, two interceptions and six pass knockdowns for the defending Grey Cup champions.
Standout defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders is the West Division nominee. He finished fifth in total defensive plays (111) but led the CFL in interceptions and take-aways (both eight) and tied his career-high with 71 tackles.
Milligan helped Saskatchewan's defence lead the CFL with 49 turnovers and finish second with 24 interceptions.
Saskatchewan's Logan Ferland and Toronto's Ryan Hunter are the outstanding lineman finalists. The six-foot-five, 306-pound Ferland, of Melfort, Sask., started every game this season and saw action at guard, tackle and centre as the Riders allowed 35 sacks, down from 54 in 2023.
The six-foot-three, 315-pound Hunter, of North Bay, Ont., made 17 starts this season, lining up at guard and tackle. Toronto's offence led the CFL in scoring (28.6 per game) and was second in rushing (121.3 yards per game) but also allowed 40 sacks after surrendering just 19 in 2023.
Toronto returner Janarion Grant and B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte are the finalists for outstanding special-teams player.
Grant led the CFL in punt-returns yards (career-high 989), average (14.8 yards) and TDs (three) and total return touchdowns (four). At one point, he had return TDs in three straight games and went on to set career highs in punt returns (67), kickoff returns (41), and kickoff return yards (1,000).
Whyte, 39, of White Rock., B.C. hit 50-of-53 field goals (94.3 per cent) for a second straight season while also making 36-of-38 converts. He accumulated 186 points in 2024 to crack the 2,000-point career plateau (2,057 and counting). With an all-time 88.4 per cent field goal success rate (minimum 1,000 attempts), Whyte is the most accurate kicker in CFL history.
Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges are the top rookie finalists. The five-foot-11, 242-pound Anderson finished tied with teammate Nyles Morgan for 111 tackles and ranked second in total defensive plays (130), adding three sacks, one interception, and two forced fumbles.
The six-foot-four, 210-pound Bridges had a team-high 83 catches for 933 yards and four TDs in 15 games before suffering a season-ending leg injury. The 26-year-old native of Jacksonville, Fla., still set a Ticats record for most receptions by a first-year player.
Saskatchewan's Corey Mace and Montreal's Jason Maas are finalists for the Annis Stukus Trophy as the CFL's coach of the year. The Riders (9-8-1) were second in the West Division in Mace's first season as head coach.
Under Mace, of Port Moody, B.C., Saskatchewan's defence allowed a CFL-low 80.3 rushing yards per game while finishing with the best turnover ratio at plus-26.
Montreal (12-5-1) posted a CFL-best record in its second season under Maas and finished atop the East Division for the first time since 2012. The Alouettes reached the 12-win plateau for the first time since 2010 and a successful Grey Cup defence would be the franchise's first since 2009-10.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
The Canadian Press
