Joseph named Most Outstanding Player
TORONTO – Kerry Joseph led a West Division sweep at the CFL’s awards banquet Thursday night.
The elusive quarterback, who guided the Saskatchewan Roughriders to their first Grey Cup berth since 1997, was named the CFL’s outstanding player and was the only non-B.C. Lions player to be honoured at Roy Thomson Hall.
The other award winners included slot back Jason Clermont (top Canadian), defensive end Cameron Wake (rookie, defensive player), Rob Murphy (lineman) and Ian Smart (special teams).
The East Division finalists included quarterback Kevin Glenn (outstanding player), defensive tackle Doug Brown (Canadian) and tackle Dan Goodspeed (lineman) of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, defensive end Jonathan Brown (defensive player) and returner Dominique Dorsey (special teams) of the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats kicker Nick Setta (rookie).
Voting for the awards was conducted by Football Reporters of Canada as well as the eight CFL head coaches.
Joseph was a surprising winner considering Glenn led the CFL in pass attempts (621), completions (388) and yards (5,114) and was second in TD tosses (25). But Joseph was third overall in passing with 4,002 yards but also was the league’s top rushing quarterback with 737 yards and 13 touchdowns.
What’s more, Joseph led Saskatchewan to a 12-6 record – second only to the B.C. Lions (14-3-1) in the CFL – that not only earned the Riders second spot in the West Division but also the right to hold their first home playoff game since 1988.
Joseph is the first Roughriders quarterback to win the CFL’s top individual award since Ron Lancaster accomplished the feat in 1976.
Wake’s two honours accentuated the Lions’ dominance of the CFL this season.
The six-foot-three, 241-pound Wake played linebacker at Penn State but was shifted to defensive end by the Lions. The move paid immediate dividends as Wake not only cracked B.C.’s starting lineup but developed into the league’s top pass rusher, registering a league-high 16 sacks.
With Wake leading the way, the Lions registered a CFL-high 61 sacks. He also had 69 tackles and three forced fumbles and recorded the only blocked field goal in the CFL during the regular season.
Wake finished his season by registering a CFL playoff-record five sacks in the Lions’ loss to Saskatchewan in the West Division semifinal.
Clermont, also named the top Canadian in 2004, finished third in the CFL in receiving this year with 86 catches for 1,158 yards and seven touchdowns.
Murphy was named the top lineman for the second straight year. The former Ohio State buckeye, helped the Lions drastically cut their sacks total – 32 in ’07 after allowing 56 last year – while paving the way for running back Joe Smith, who led the CFL in rushing with 1,510 yards.
Smart finished the season with the special-teams triple crown. He led the CFL in punt returns (92, 912 yards, one TD), kickoff returns (53, 1,228 yards, 23.2-yard average) and all-purpose yards (2,440 yards).
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