2010 Toronto Argos Team Award Nominees Announced

The Canadian Football League announced today the Argonauts’ team award nominees for the 2010 season. Leading the pack for the Boatmen were unanimous selections for Most Outstanding Canadian LB Kevin Eiben, Most Outstanding Lineman OT Rob Murphy and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player WR/KR Chad Owens. Overall, these six Double Blue warriors combined for a total of four (4) CFL Player of the Month awards and nine (9) CFL Player of the Week awards in 2010.

The players were selected by voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) and the 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 – Most Outstanding Player, Most Outstanding Canadian Player, Most Outstanding Defensive Player, Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman, Most Outstanding Rookie, and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.

Outstanding Player: RB Cory Boyd

Outstanding Canadian: LB Kevin Eiben*

Outstanding Defensive Player: DE Ronald Flemons

Outstanding Lineman: OT Rob Murphy*

Outstanding Special Teams Player: WR/KR Chad Owens*

Outstanding Rookie: DB Evan McCollough

* – unanimous selection

In his first CFL season, RB Cory Boyd has taken the league by storm. Boyd is the CFL’s leading rusher with 1,359 yards, has scored eight (8) touchdowns (six rushing & two receiving) and is the club’s fifth-leading receiver (363 yards). Boyd leads the CFL in yards from scrimmage with 1,722 and has broken several club records. This is the first time that Boyd has been named a team nominee for this award. See below for a complete list of Boyd’s 2010 milestones:

* Seventh different Argonaut to rush for 1,000 yards in a season (eighth time in team history).
* Fastest Argos player to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a season (11 active games).
* Tied for the second-long streak in club history with three consecutive 100+ yard rushing games.
* Third-youngest Argo to reach 1,000 yards in a season (25 years old).
* Five (5) 100+ yard rushing games (tied for third-most by an Argo in a season).
* 1,359 rushing yards are second-most in a season by an Argos player.
* 226 carries is third-most by an Argos running back in a season.
* CFL Offensive Player of the Week during CFL week 6.
* CFL Offensive Player of the Month in August.

LB Kevin Eiben, who was a unanimous choice for this award, has proven for the second straight year why he’s one of the premier Canadians in the CFL. He was named CFL Player of the Month for August, after being named runner-up for the monthly award in July, and runner-up for Canadian Player of the Week during weeks 4 & 8. He started all 17 games this season serving the team’s starting WLB, as well as the holder on field goals. His 95 defensive tackles lead the Argos, and is second in the CFL, and he’s third on the team with two interceptions. Eiben surpassed 600 career defensive tackles this season and is in close pursuit of 700 career defensive tackles. This is the sixth time Eiben has been named the club’s Outstanding Canadian (2004-07, 2009-10).

Quiet off the field, DE Ronald Flemons lets his on-field play do the talking. He’s already set career-highs in defensive tackles (52), sacks (8) and fumble recoveries with four (4) for 54 yards. Flemons’ four fumble recoveries tie for second-most by an Argos player in a season, and his six passes defended tie him for the 2010 team lead. During CFL week 11, he was named CFL Defensive Player of the Week for making a career-high three (3) sacks against B.C., and then earned CFL Defensive Player of the Month for September. This is the first time Flemons has been nominated for this award.

OT Rob Murphy’s peers recently voted him the nastiest player in the CFL and now he’s a unanimous choice as the Argos’ Outstanding Lineman. He was named captain of the line at the start of the season and has more than exceeded expectations. Murphy has started 15 games this season, protecting his quarterback’s blindside and helped spring star RB Cory Boyd for a league-leading 1,722 yards from scrimmage. This is the third time in his career that Murphy has been named his team’s Outstanding Lineman (B.C. in 2006 & 2007, both times he went on to be named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Lineman) but this is his first team nomination as a member of the Argonauts.

WR/KR Chad Owens, a unanimous selection for this award, has been the most exciting player in the CFL this season. He’s been busy re-writing team and league record books all year and was recently recognized by his peers as being the biggest threat to score from anywhere on the field. The Fly’n Hawaiian leads the CFL in punt return yards (1,060), punt return average (12.6), kickoff return yards (1,216), kickoff return average (22.9), missed field goal return yards (425), kick return touchdowns (4), has four games with at least 100 punt return yards and five games with at least 100 kickoff return yards, and the list goes on. Owens’ numerous highlights are listed below. This is the first time that Owens has been named a team nominee for this award.

* Set new club record for total kick return yards (PR+KR+MFG) in a season (2,701).
* Second in club history in single-season punt return yards (1,060) and kickoff return yards (1,216).
* Second-best single-season all-purpose yards total in club history (3,288).
* Fifth player in CFL history to record 1,000 punt & kickoff return yards in a season.
* Four kick return touchdowns in a season is the second-most in team history.
* Team-record six-time CFL Player of the Week (five on special teams and once on offence). He was a unanimous choice for three of the special teams awards.
* Special Teams Player of the Month for September.

For all intents and purposes, DB Evan McCollough is a true pro-football rookie. The 23-year old product of James Madison University missed the first game of the CFL season then started 16 straight games at defensive back for the Argos. He’s fifth on the team with 60 defensive tackles, second on the team with two fumble returns for 42 yards and tied for first on the team with six (6) passes knocked down. He’s fit in well with a veteran-laden secondary and has earned the respect and admiration of his teammates and coaches. This is the first time McCollough has been named a team nominee for this award.

The East and West nominees for the 2010 Gibson’s Finest CFL Player Awards will be announced on Thursday, November 11, 2010. The league-wide winners will be announced during Grey Cup week at the Gibson’s Finest CFL Player Awards on Thursday, November 25 at the Edmonton Winspear Centre in Edmonton, Alberta.