Year in Review #3: Outstanding Oliveira

Brady Oliveira’s story represents everything the Canadian Football League covets in its marketing and ability to reach its wide-ranging fan base.

Heck, it’s a tale so rich, so heartwarming and so compelling it’s got movie-of-the-week possibilities.

Consider, after all, the bones of this story…

A Winnipeg kid raised by a single mom beats the odds to play college football, then gets drafted by his hometown team in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

That alone makes this tale riveting enough.

Then add the next and most recent layers, with Oliveira rushing for three straight 1,000-yard seasons, capturing two CFL rushing titles, two Most Outstanding Canadian awards and then the league’s Most Outstanding Player award and, well, it truly is something ripped right from the pages of a Hollywood script.

And, oh yeah, did we mention in his spare time the guy rescues dogs?

Oliveira’s sensational 2024 campaign — one so stacked with accomplishments — comes in at #3 in our annual Year in Review series outlining the top stories of the season.

After winning his second straight rushing title and helping lead the Blue Bombers to another Grey Cup appearance, Oliveira was a double winner on CFL awards night, being honoured as both the Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian for 2024.

Oliveira captured the MOP honours in a close vote, 31-25, over Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and the Canadian award over Montreal Alouettes defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund by a vote of 55-1.

In the process, the 27-year-old became just the fourth player to claim two of the league’s most prestigious awards in the same season, joining a list that includes CFL icons Russ Jackson (Ottawa Rough Riders, 1963, 1966, 1969), Tony Gabriel (Ottawa, 1978) and Jon Cornish (Calgary Stampeders, 2013).

“It’s amazing, man, to be up here with two of the most prestigious awards in this amazing league that I’ve been watching since I was a young kid,” said Oliveira at the gala event at the Vancouver Convention Centre four days before the Grey Cup game. “It’s a dream. It’s awesome.

“Having my name mentioned in the same sentence as those legends is bizarre to me, kind of. I still feel like I’m young in my career. And especially (hearing his name mentioned in the same sentence) a guy like Jon Cornish. I grew up watching him play the running back position and just dominating.

“To be even mentioned with his name is, again, bizarre but of course an incredible honour.”

Oliveira rushed for a league-best 1,353 yards this season and led the CFL in yards from scrimmage 1,829 yards including his 476 receiving yards on a career-high 57 receptions.

With his big haul that night he became the Blue Bombers first double award winner in one season and the third Blue Bombers player to be named MOP in the last four years after Zach Collaros was honoured in 2021 and 2022. He is also the ninth player in franchise history to win the MOP award after Don Jonas (1971), Dieter Brock (1980, 1981), Willard Reaves (1984), James Murphy (1986), Tom Clements (1987), Khari Jones (2001), Milt Stegall (2002) and Zach Collaros (2021, 2022).

In a true sign of his growth and maturity as a player since being drafted by the club, Oliveira made certain to thank his offensive line, his coaches and singled out veteran Canadians like Nic Demski, Pat Neufeld and Jake Thomas for being important role models early in his career. He also mentioned running backs coach Jason Hogan both in his acceptance speech and afterward in his media availability.

Oliveira missed most of training camp, was dinged up and not in uniform for the second game of the season and after four weeks had just 128 yards rushing. But over the next 14 games he had 1,222 yards rushing, including six 100-yard performances, as the Blue Bombers reversed a slow start to win nine of their last 10 to secure first place in the West Division.

After the awards night Oliveira met with a group of national media covering the Grey Cup and was asked what a younger version of himself would think about winning a Grey Cup with the Blue Bombers — he was part of the 2019 and 2021 championship squads — and now the MOP award and top Canadian for a second time, Oliveira grinned.

“It’s insane,” he said. “This is nuts. This is crazy. Everyone knows the story — I grew up a Winnipeg Blue Bomber fan, I’m a proud Winnipegger… the fact that I’m up here with the two most prestigious awards in this league representing my city, representing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers organization and all my teammates, it’s insane, man.

“It’s insane.”

Next: Year in Review #2: More Pain/Another Grey Cup Loss