The 2021 season will have been that of William Stanback with the Montreal Alouettes.
The running back was unanimously voted Montreal Football Club’s MVP on Wednesday, by voting members of the Football Columnists Association of Canada (FCAC) and CFL Head Coaches.
“It means a lot to me. It shows that I’m starting to make a name for myself in this league, Stanback said in videoconference. It was one of my goals in bringing me to this league in 2018 to play at a high level over a long period of time.
“It’s an honor that I share with my teammates,” he added. Without them, whether on the pitch or away, I wouldn’t be able to collect such accolades. They push me to be the player that I can be. “
Stanback sits atop the Ambrosie Tour with 1,131 rushing yards, nearly 200 more than his closest pursuer Ka’Deem Carey of the Calgary Stampeders, even though he played two games less.
The 27-year-old also leads the CFL in several other categories, including his 6.1 yards per carry and 186 carries, in addition to his six games over 100 rushing yards. His 203-yard rushing game, along with his 65-yard rush, represents Canadian Tour heights in 2021.
Stanback had three rushing touchdowns in 2021, in addition to catching 15 passes for 105 yards, bringing his total yards to 1,236, another league high.
The MVP title is very often awarded to a quarterback in the CFL. That Stanback is the panel’s choice for the Alouettes proves how exceptional his season is.
“It shows the kind of ground attack we have here. (André) Bolduc (the running backs coach and assistant head coach) and I are so close that I’m comfortable telling him if this or that game isn’t quite for me. Our attack, from linemen to ball carriers, we are on the same page. I know it’s a league of passer, but you can run too. “
“That he is a player par excellence, it shows all the impact he has on this club. It shows how great he is, said head coach Khari Jones, himself CFL MVP in 2001, as he led the offense for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. It is so good that it stands out from the crowd. I am very happy for him.
“Of course it’s an individual honor, but he couldn’t achieve it without the help of his teammates around, especially the offensive linemen. I believe they should be proud of this appointment. “
For the Alouettes, the honor of the offensive lineman par excellence went to tackle Landon Rice, whose consistency, in his first season as a starter, allowed the Alouettes to lead the league with 1894 yards in the game. ground, more than 400 yards more than the second-place Bombers.
“I see this honor as a group honor,” said Rice humbly. It’s an individual honor, but at the end of the day I play for the guys alongside me on the line. “
“It’s a model of consistency,” Rice’s Jones said. He does his job every week. We always know that his tasks will be well accomplished. “
Two nominations for Ménard and Côté
Defensive lineman David Ménard and precision kicker David Côté won two honors.
Ménard was voted the Canadian player and the defensive player par excellence. The ex-Carabin hopes that this nomination and the season he has just experienced will silence his denigrators.
“There are always people who will doubt you, who will tell you that you have no business there,” he commented. When I got kicked out in 2019, I spent half the season at home because the year before (with the BC Lions) I had been benched for some reason. ‘don’t know yet. So yes, it’s a way of contradicting all the people who have misjudged me during my career. “
“I don’t remember what season it was in BC (when I was coaching there), but he really impressed me,” Jones praised. It seemed to me that whenever we needed a big game, he made it happen. […] He has a knack for releasing big games. “
Côté, for his part, obtained the titles of rookie par excellence and player par excellence in special teams.
“David Côté was a nice surprise,” said Jones. It was one of the question marks as we started this season. We were wondering who was going to do those kicks and he took control and calmed everyone down with his game. […] He proved us right. “
“From the start of the season, I don’t remember if it was in the first or the second game, there was a bad throw-in and he had the reflex to kick the ball into the end zone. He had made the right decision. He had played a good game. As soon as it happened, I said to myself: I like this youngster. His play throughout the season probably made it so that I never ordered a two point transformation. “
The winners of the East and West Associations, who will be nominated at the 2021 CFL gala, will be announced on Thursday, November 25.
The 2021 CFL Gala will take place at the Hamilton Convention Center on Friday, December 10. This ceremony is one of the flagship events of Gray Cup week.