Brandon Banks has been named the 2019 CFL MOP. He was one of four Hamilton Tiger-Cats players to walk away with the prize at the league’s annual awards ceremony.
Hamilton were very well represented here. Which is not surprising given the record breaking season they have had.
They also had coach of the year, most outstanding lineman and most outstanding special teams player awards to celebrate. Ti-Cats fans will be hoping collecting all this silverware is just a precursor to winning the Grey Cup on Sunday.
Banking on Speedy B
As we noted, Banks was a unanimous selection for the Ti-Cats nominee and that confidence has been justified here.
The MOP is Banks’s second CFL award in his seven-year career, after being named the Most Outstanding Special Teams Player in 2015.
Speedy B is the first receiver to win the award since Chad Owens took it home in 2012. He is also the first non-quarterback to be named MOP since 2014 when Solomon Elimimian took home a rare defensive overall win.
Banks finished the year with 112 catches for 1,550 yards and 13 touchdowns. Added to that were 13 punt returns for 140 yards and 13 rushes for 56 yards and 1 TD.
That meant he was second in the league with 1,606 yards from scrimmage & third in the league because of his 2,029 combined yards.
The receiving yardage and touchdowns were both league leading. Banks also led the league in games with 100-plus receiving yards (eight), yards after catch (657) and receptions of 20-plus yards (21).
The Non Tiger-Cats
Three of the awards went to non-Hamilton players. Just like last year, Winnipeg had the most Outstanding Defensive Player. Last year it was Adam Bighill, this year it is Willie Jefferson.
This was the first time Jefferson has collected the award in his career. Not bad for his first year with the team!
Most Outstanding Rookie went to Calgary linebacker Nate Holley. He is the sixth Stampeder ever to win this award.
Finally, Most Outstanding Canadian went to Henoc Muamba of the Montreal Alouettes. He is the 4th Als player to win this award, and the first linebacker to win it since Winnipeg coach Mike O’Shea did in his playing days back in 1999.
The full list of current player awards is as follows:
| Most Outstanding Player | Brandon Banks |
| Coach of the Year | Orlando Steinauer |
| Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman | Chris Van Zeyl |
| Most Outstanding Defensive Player | Willie Jefferson |
| Most Outstanding Special Teams Player | Frankie Williams |
| Most Outstanding Rookie | Nate Holley |
| Most Outstanding Canadian | Henoc Muamba |
Banner Image: Brandon Banks 2019 MOP from ticats.ca