The Canadian Football League has unveiled the team-by-team nominations for the 2019 Most Outstanding Player Awards, and nowhere has that list sparked more debate than right here in Winnipeg with the Blue Bombers.

Actually, that spark has morphed into more of a raging inferno, as Andrew Harris was completely shut out following voting conducted by the local chapter of The Football Reporters of Canada – Bob Irving of CJOB, Jeff Hamilton of The Free Press, The Sun’s Ted Wyman and Darrin Bauming of TSN 1290 – along with Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea.

The Bombers have two double-award winners, as Willie Jefferson was named the Most Outstanding Player and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player, while Mike Miller was voted the Most Outstanding Canadian and the Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.

Rounding out the Bombers nominations were Stanley Bryant as the Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman and Kenny Lawler, voted the Most Outstanding Rookie.

Jefferson was the unanimous choice for the top defensive player, as was Miller in the special teams category. The local voters have made their ballots public and Jefferson won the outstanding player honours by a slim margin of 3-2 over Harris, with Irving and O’Shea selecting the running back. The results apparently followed the same pattern in the vote for Miller in the Canadian category.

Harris is en route to capturing his third-straight CFL rushing title and just last week became the league’s all-time leading rusher among Canadians, passing hall of famer Normie Kwong. But he was also suspended for two games after trace amounts of a banned substance were found in a random drug test back in July.

And therein lies the dilemma the local voters faced with no clear-cut policy in place from the CFL regarding the issue.

Miller, meanwhile, made his feelings known about being named the top Canadian in a statement:

“It is my honour to be named the Most Outstanding Special Teams Player for the Bombers, but I feel I must speak out in support of Andrew Harris as our team’s Most Outstanding Canadian. Andrew is one of the true leaders on our team and one of the best players in the history of the Canadian Football League, and it is a shame he is not being recognized after such a sensational season. I will accept the Canadian nomination on Andrew’s behalf, but do so reluctantly and while completely disagreeing with his omission.”

Jefferson, asked about being selected over Harris during a Wednesday media availability that also included Bryant, said, “That’s an award that I’m hoping to win for somebody else. That would be a great honour for me to win it, I put in a lot of work to win that award, but there’s a guy on this team that put in a lot of work this year too. That’s the way things go, but it would be an honour to win it just for him. If I do win it, I will most definitely share it with Andrew, for sure.

“Andrew’s the leader of this team,” Jefferson added. “I consider myself a captain on the defensive side of the ball, along with (Adam) Bighill and B.A. (Brandon Alexander). But on the offensive side of the ball, it’s Andrew’s team. He’s been the leader on this team for a while and he’s always been a leader to me as soon as I stepped onto the scene. Everybody is behind Andrew in his situation.”

The Harris debate, unfortunately, does overshadow the accomplishments of Jefferson, Miller, Bryant and Lawler. Jefferson is coming off a record-breaking regular season; Bryant won his third straight top O-lineman award for the Bombers and his fourth since arriving here in 2015; Miller has been a soldier on special teams, while Lawler led the team in receiving yardage despite the club starting three different quarterbacks this season.

“It’s an honour to be nominated,” said Bryant, the CFL’s back-to-back top lineman in 2017 and 2018. “It’s just about being consistent and staying healthy. I’ve been blessed to not miss a game since I’ve been in Winnipeg and have been able to be a part of the process of bringing this organization back up to a winning team.”

THE ENVELOPE PLEASE…

A look at the Blue Bombers nominees for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player Awards, as voted on by four members of local chapter of The Football Reporters of Canada and the head coach Mike O’Shea…

(*Indicates unanimous vote)

The East/West nominees will be announced following the next round of voting, with the league winners unveiled during Grey Cup week.

MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER/MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER*

Willie Jefferson

Position: Defensive end

His 2019 numbers: Jefferson set a CFL record for pass knockdowns by a defensive lineman with 16 – best in the league – while also leading in forced fumbles with six. He added 24 tackles, one interception, two fumble recoveries and set a new career best with 12 quarterback sacks.

FYI: Jefferson is the seventh defensive player to be named the Bombers MOP in the last 12 years and the 15^th since the inception of the award in 1953. The others: Adam Bighill (2018), Jamaal Westerman (2015), Henoc Muamba (2013), Jovon Johnson (2009, 2011), Doug Brown (2008), Maurice Kelly (1999), K.D. Williams (1996), Greg Clark (1995), Greg Battle (1989), John Helton (1979), Paul Williams (1974), Phill Minnick (1969) and Dick Huffman (1954.

Dating back to 2008, a Bomber defensive player has also been named the team’s MOP six times: Brown (2008), Johnson (2011), Muamba (2013), Westerman (2015), Bighill (2018) and Jefferson (2019).

Willie says: “It goes to show defensive players can change the way of a game, can change of the way of a season, and manipulate the way quarterbacks and offences game plan. For a player on the defensive side to win MOP, it goes to show that they did a lot of work. Simple as that.”

MOST OUTSTANDING CANADIAN PLAYER/MOST OUTSTANDING SPECIAL-TEAMS PLAYER*

Mike Miller

Position: Fullback

His 2019 numbers: Currently tied with teammate Kerfalla Exumé for second in the CFL with 25 special teams tackles, and moved into second place on the league’s all-time list in that category. Miller added six catches for 63 yards and one carry for 10 yards this season.

FYI: Harris had been named the Bombers’ top Canadian in each of his first three years in Winnipeg. This is the first team nomination for Miller, was first signed by the Edmonton Eskimos as an un-drafted free agent in 2011.

MOST OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE LINEMAN

Stanley Bryant

Position: Left tackle

His 2019 numbers: Durable and consistent, Bryant helped anchor an offensive line that features two Top 10 rushers in Harris and Chris Streveler and leads the CFL in rushing yards.

FYI: No player in CFL history has won the league’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award in three straight years, which Bryant could do this fall. Dating back to 1974 and the inception of the Most Outstanding Offensive Linemen Award there have been 19 Bombers to capture this honour more than once, led by Hall of Famer Chris Walby, who won the club’s top O-lineman award nine times.

Stanley says: “The main challenge this year with a couple of young guys stepping in and having to accept their roles and having to get on the same page with the veteran guys that are in the room like me, Jermarcus (Hardrick) and Patty (Neufeld). We want to bring that physical nature to the offensive line and to the group and those guys stepped in well and stepped up to the challenge. Mike Couture has been with us for a few years and got the opportunity to start all 18 games this year, Drew (Desjarlais) came in and played well, Cody (Speller), Geoff (Gray)… all those young guys came and played good and we all bonded together. I think, arguably, we’re still the best offensive line in the CFL.”

MOST OUTSTANDING ROOKIE

Kenny Lawler

Position: Receiver

His 2019 numbers: Led the Bombers with 637 receiving yards on 43 catches, four of them for touchdowns. Lawler also tied with Andrew Harris for the team lead in catches that converted second downs, with 18.

FYI: Lawler breaks a streak that saw a defensive player named the Bombers Most Outstanding Rookie in the four previous years: Marcus Sayles (2018), Brandon Alexander (2017), Taylor Loffler (2016) and Khalil Bass (2015). The last Bombers player to be named the CFL Most Outstanding Rookie was receiver Chris Matthews in 2012.

For a look at the team-by-team nominees for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player Awards, click here.

WE ASKED, YOU ANSWERED

Earlier this week, bluebombers.com offered fans the opportunity to fill out their own ballots for the Most Outstanding Player Awards in our 4^th Annual Fans’ Choice Awards.

We were overwhelmed by the response, as for the second straight year of polling more 2,000 fans opted to weigh in with their thoughts. As well, we have selected three names as winners of our Bomber Store gift certificates of $100, $50 and $25 (the winners will be contacted by the club).

Poll results here: