Star quarterback Davis Alexander was the Montreal Alouettes’ nominee for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award, it was announced Thursday.
Alexander was one of nine team nominees for MOP, given annually to the best player in the league. Alexander and teammate Tyson Philpot were the two frontrunners for the award after the formidable quarterback and wide receiver duo helped lead the Als to the top record in the Eastern Division, but it’s Alexander who received Montreal’s nomination from the Football Reporters of Canada.
The pivot led the CFL in passing yards per game (328.6) and had a 35-4 touchdown to interception ratio. He is expected to sit out the final week of the season without the Alouettes having anything to play for, locking in his numbers for the year.
Alexander is up against Nathan Rourke (BC Lions), Cody Fajardo (Edmonton Elks), Vernon Adams Jr. (Calgary Stampeders), Trevor Harris (Saskatchewan Roughriders), Brady Oliveira (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), Reggie Stubblefield (Hamilton Tiger-Cats), Chad Kelly (Toronto Argonauts) and Ayden Eberhardt (Ottawa Redblacks).
Philpot still has a chance at a major award for his stellar season, as he was the Als’ nominee for Most Outstanding Canadian. Also nominated for MOC is his twin brother, receiver Jalen Philpot of the Calgary Stampeders.
Tyson had the better season among the two and leads the league in yards (1,809), receptions (124), and touchdowns (13). Like Alexander, he also projects to sit out Week 21.
To put those numbers into historical context, he put up the most receiving yards in a season since Geroy Simon’s MOP 2006 season, the most catches since Derrell Mitchell’s 1998 year, and the second-most receiving touchdowns since Romby Bryant in 2010.
Jalen’s season was solid, too, as he finished with 91 catches for a career-best 1,241 yards and eight touchdowns.
Joining the twins as nominees for the league’s top Canadian honour this season are Rourke (BC Lions), Joel Dublanko (Edmonton Elks), Kian Schaffer-Baker (Saskatchewan Roughriders), Oliveira (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), Kiondre Smith (Hamilton Tiger-Cats), David Ungerer III (Toronto Argonauts), and Keelan White (Ottawa Redblacks).
The three finalists for MOC, Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman and Most Outstanding Rookie will be named on Oct. 27. The MOP, Most Outstanding Defensive Player and Most Outstanding Special teams Player finalists will be announced a day later.
Here is the full list of the CFL’s end-of-season award nominees, divided by team:
BC LIONS
• MOP | Nathan Rourke
• MOC | Nathan Rourke*
• MODP | Darnell Sankey*
• MOOL | Kory Woodruff*
• MOST | Sean Whyte*
• MOR | Parker McKenna*
EDMONTON ELKS
• MOP | Cody Fajardo
• MOC | Joel Dublanko
• MODP | Malik Carney
• MOOL | David Beard
• MOST | Vincent Blanchard*
• MOR | T.J. Luther*
CALGARY STAMPEDERS
• MOP | Vernon Adams Jr.*
• MOC | Jalen Philpot*
• MODP | Clarence Hicks*
• MOOL | Christy Nkanu
• MOST | Tyreik McAllister*
• MOR | Jesulayomi Ojutalayo
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
• MOP | Trevor Harris
• MOC | Kian Schaffer-Baker
• MODP | Jameer Thurman*
• MOOL | Logan Ferland
• MOST | Melique Straker
• MOR | Daniel Wiebe
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
• MOP | Brady Oliveira*
• MOC | Brady Oliveira*
• MODP | Evan Holm
• MOOL | Jarell Broxton*
• MOST | Trey Vaval
• MOR | Major Williams*
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
• MOP | Reggie Stubblefield
• MOC | Kiondré Smith
• MODP | Reggie Stubblefield
• MOOL | Brandon Revenberg
• MOST | Marc Liegghio
• MOR | Jordan Crook
TORONTO ARGONAUTS
• MOP | Chad Kelly
• MOC | David Ungerer III
• MODP | Adarius Pickett
• MOOL | Peter Nicastro
• MOST | Janarion Grant*
• MOR | Tyler Kahmann*
OTTAWA REDBLACKS
• MOP | Ayden Eberhardt
• MOC | Keelan White
• MODP | Nyles Morgan
• MOOL | Drew Desjarlais
• MOST | Kalil Pimpleton*
• MOR | Jelani Stafford
MONTREAL ALOUETTES
• MOP | Davis Alexander
• MOC | Tyson Philpot*
• MODP | Tyrice Beverette
• MOOL | Donald Ventrelli
• MOST | José Maltos Díaz
• MOR | Jonathan Sutherland
*Denotes unanimous selection
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