2015 CWUAA Awards: Buckley named Player of the Year, Harris top coach

CALGARY – While the University of Calgary Dinos still have work to do if they hope to claim Canada West football’s most important piece of hardware – the Hardy Trophy – the team laid claim to plenty of individual awards Thursday, as Canada West unveiled its football major award winners.

Calgary, who enters Saturday’s 79th Hardy Cup against the UBC Thunderbirds (12 PM MT / Global Television) with a perfect 9-0 record, claimed three major awards a week after the team landed 16 Canada West all-stars.

Taking home the rest of the conference hardware was the Manitoba Bisons, who earned the conference’s three other individual awards, as voted on by the conference’s six head coaches.

Leading the way for the Dinos’ awards haul was fifth-year quarterback Andrew Buckley, who was unanimously selected the Frank Gnup Memorial Trophy winner as the Canada West player of the year.

Buckley put up a phenomenal season in the Stampede City, setting a CIS single-season passing record with 3,162 yards. With his win, Buckley moves forward as Canada West’s nominee for the Hec Crighton Award, which is awarded annually to CIS football’s most outstanding player. Last year Buckley claimed the honour, becoming the fourth Dino to win the award.

While Buckley has dominated on the offensive side of the ball in 2015, third-year defensive back Robert Woodson did the same for Calgary on defence, to earn Canada West Defensive Player of the Year honours.

Woodson, who led the conference in interceptions with five, will now go forward as the conference nominee for the President’s Trophy, which is awarded annually to CIS football’s top defensive player.

Rounding out Calgary’s award winners is head coach Wayne Harris, who is the Canada West Coach of Year and becomes the conference’s nominee for the Frank Tindall Trophy – CIS football’s coach of the year.

In his first season at the helm of the program, Harris guided Calgary to a perfect 8-0 regular season, as the Dinos dominated the conference, with an average margin of victory north of 40 points.

For Manitoba, who fell last weekend in the Hardy Cup Semis to UBC, a trio of players were recognized Thursday with individual accolades.

First-year Bisons sensation Jamel Lyles is the Canada West Rookie of the Year after finishing second in the nation in all-purpose yards, racking up 1,564 yards. Lyles was the only player in the nation with at least 100 yards rushing, receiving, via punt return and kick return. He becomes the conference nominee for the Peter Gorman Trophy as CIS rookie of the year.

The conference’s outstanding lineman for 2015 and nominee for CIS lineman of the year (John Metras Trophy) is Manitoba’s David Onyemata. The defensive lineman finished second in the conference in sacks (5) and tackles for loss (7.5) and was the top ranked CIS player in the CFL Scouting Bureau’s initial draft rankings released in September, coming in at No. 2 on the list.

Rounding out the conference’s individual award winners is the Bisons’ DJ Lalama, who earns the Student-Athlete Community Service Award and becomes the nominee for CIS’ Russ Jackson Award.

The third-year linebacker has been involved in numerous charitable and volunteer organizations over the course of his four seasons at Manitoba, including Sam’s Christmas, which provides over $1 million dollars in winter clothing to the homeless via a donation by Marks Warehouse and supplies Christmas dinners to over 300 of Winnipeg’s most needy.

Lalama also excelled on the football field, serving as a co-captain for the first time with the Bisons in 2015. He finished 2015 tied for 15th in the conference with 36 total tackles (27 solo) and tied for fifth with 5.5 tackles for losses.

Canada West Football 2015 Major Award Winners:

*Unanimous selection

 

Player of the Year (Hec Crighton Trophy nominee): Andrew Buckley, Calgary*

Lineman of the Year (John Metras Trophy nominee): David Onyemata, Manitoba

Rookie of the Year (Peter Gorman Trophy nominee): Jamel Lyles, Manitoba*

Defensive Player of the Year (President’s Trophy nominee): Robert Woodson, Calgary*

Student-Athlete Community Service Award (Russ Jackson Award nominee): DJ Lalama, Man.*

Coach of the Year (Frank Tindall Trophy nominee): Wayne Harris, Calgary

2015 Canada West Major Award Winner Bios:

FRANK GNUP MEMORIAL TROPHY (Player of the Year, Hec Crighton Trophy nominee): ANDREW BUCKLEY, Calgary

After a remarkable season in 2014 where he won the Hec Crighton Trophy, Andrew Buckley found a way to further enhance his on-field performance in 2015.

The final pick in last spring’s CFL Draft, Buckley attended the Calgary Stampeders’ training camp in the off-season and came into Dinos camp in August with more poise, confidence, and technical skill than ever. The result? A season with 3,162 passing yards – a CIS single-season record – and a completion percentage of 72 per cent, the best in Canada West history. Along the way, the fifth-year Kinesiology student – also one of CIS’ Top 8 Academic All-Canadians – threw just one interception on 246 pass attempts while tossing for 19 touchdowns. He averaged 12.9 yards per passing attempt and 395.3 yards per game and threw for 400-plus yards in five of his eight games on the season. Buckley added 33 carries for 256 rushing yards on the season, running for a trio of touchdowns.

The offence he directed set school records in points (471), touchdowns (53), passing yards (3695), total offence (5606) and field goals (26). He wraps up his stellar five-year career as the most accurate passer in school history and is second on Calgary’s all-time passing list with 8,199 yards – despite starting for just three seasons.

“Andrew Buckley is the offensive leader both on and off the field,” said Dinos head coach Wayne Harris. “His decision-making, accuracy as a passer, poise and confidence inspire and elevate the play of his teammates. He leads by example and has broken many records as a result of his work ethic and commitment to success.”

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Presidents’ Trophy nominee): ROBERT WOODSON, Calgary

Third-year defensive back Robert Woodson is the sixth Dino in the past eight seasons to earn the Canada West defensive player of the year award after an outstanding 2015 season.

Woodson, a graduate of Calgary’s St. Francis High School, finished tied for the national lead with five interceptions on the season, adding five pass knockdowns. Using his outstanding athleticism, he was the Dinos’ top cover man in the secondary and was routinely matched up against the opposition’s top receivers – and needing to record just 15.5 tackles on the season, teams were unsuccessful when throwing his direction.

“Robert Woodson is possibly the most athletic defensive back to ever play at the University of Calgary,” said Harris. “We use this athleticism to match Robbie against the top receivers in Canada West. He led the nation in interceptions and is able to play any position in the defensive backfield.”

COACH OF THE YEAR (Frank Tindall Trophy nominee): WAYNE HARRIS, Jr., Calgary

After a nearly 40-year association with the University of Calgary Dinos as a player, alumnus, assistant coach, and defensive coordinator, Wayne Harris, Jr. became the sixth head coach in Dinos history in February – and he hit the ground running.

In his first season at the helm, Harris guided the Dinos to just their second undefeated season in school history, with an average margin of victory over 40 points. The Dinos were ranked No. 1 in the CIS Top 10 for eight consecutive weeks, the longest stint atop the rankings for the program in three decades. His team produced a school-record 16 Canada West all-stars, including four of the five positions on the offensive line, all three linebackers, and four of the five spots in the defensive backfield.

His team finished tops in the nation in passing yards and was top-three in virtually every offensive category, led by Canada West MVP Andrew Buckley at quarterback. Defensively, the Dinos were just as good: they led CIS in interceptions and fumble recoveries and were tops in the conference in points and yards allowed. On average, the Dinos marched nearly 300 yards further per game than did their opponents (702 vs. 411).

Harris’ unwavering commitment to excellence extends past the football field to the classroom and the community as well, a result of his 30-year career as an educator in the Calgary high school system. His team-first approach has been embraced by the players and coaching staff, enabling players to show leadership on and off the field – resulting in a dominant performance during the 2015 season.

“Wayne has done an outstanding job leading our football program,” said Athletic Director Christine Stapleton. “Along with his staff, he has created a culture of excellence and accountability and empowered our student-athletes to take significant leadership positions, and success has been the result. We congratulate him on this well-deserved honour.”

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (Peter Gorman Trophy nominee): JAMEL LYLES, Manitoba

Lyles, 19, was a multiple winner for conference all-star with a selection at running back and kick returner position in his rookie season at Manitoba. In year one with the Bisons, Lyles led the conference in all-purpose yards with 1,564 – over 400 yards better than second place. The Surrey, BC native was third in Canada West with 691 rushing yards while playing in all eight conference games and was tied for fourth with five conference rushing touchdowns. In kick returns, the 6’0”, 205 lbs. multi-purpose player was tied for third in conference with 407 kickoff return yards and tied for first with one kickoff return TD. Lyles was also second in conference punt return yards at 344 and tied for first with one punt return TD.

“Jamel has had an outstanding season in his first year at Manitoba,” Bisons head coach Brian Dobie pointe out. “I knew he was going to have an impact in his rookie season, but he far exceeded expectations and was a constant force on both offence and special teams throughout the 2015 season.”

LINEMAN OF THE YEAR (John Metras Trophy nominee): DAVID ONYEMATA, Manitoba

Onyemata, 23, finished his fourth season at Manitoba with his second conference all-star (2014-15) selection. At the nose tackle position, the 6’4”, 295 lbs. player was a force, as he was double-teamed and created room for the rest of the defensive line. Starting all eight conference games, the Lagos, Nigeria native was second in Canada West with five sacks and tied for second for sack yards with 34. He was also second with 7.5 tackles for losses and 12th overall in Canada West with 38.5 total tackles.

“David had another dominant season and has been one of the top defensive players in the country over the last couple seasons,” Dobie said. “He faced double-teams during the 2015 season and still disrupted the offence with sacks and quarterback pressure, while being a big part of our run stop on defence playing at the nose tackle position.”

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD (Russ Jackson Award nominee): DJ LALAMA, Manitoba

Lalama, 22, had another solid season with the Manitoba Bisons on and off the field. The Winnipeg native graduated from the faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 while fast-tracking his degree by half a semester in February 2015.

Over his time with the Bisons, he founded Bisons Giving Back – a volunteer service provided by the football team and its players for numerous community events and camps. Lalama is also part of University of Manitoba Athletics Counsel (UMAC). As the football representative  on UMAC, Lalama worked to spearhead the ‘Bison vs. Bullying’ outreach program, the Bison Book Buddies reading program, and has also volunteered at the Siloam Mission homeless shelter.

In addition, Lalama was official spokesperson and director of marketing for local charity Project Echo, which undertakes several initiatives over the course of the calendar year with its biggest being Sam’s Christmas in conjunction with Lighthouse Mission – a local inner city soup kitchen. Sam’s Christmas provides over $1 million dollars in winter clothing to the homeless via a donation by Marks Warehouse and supplies Christmas dinners to over 300 of Winnipeg’s most needy. He also volunteered over 100 hours over summer/fall to local club and high school football teams as guest coach or team trainer; head trainer for Junior Bisons Program and created the Bison Street team in junction with Bison Sports to market Bison teams and create a greater following around the city of all University of Manitoba sport teams.

The 6’1”, 230 lbs. linebacker was a co-captain for the first time with the Bisons in 2015 and tied for 15th in the conference with 36 total tackles (27 solo) and tied for fifth with 5.5 tackles for losses, while playing in six of eight conference regular season games.

“DJ has been an important leader on and off the field over his last four seasons at Manitoba,” head coach Dobie pointed out. “He has been a catalyst as a Winnipeg-born player, giving back to the community through several rewarding projects. He reflects and upholds the qualities for being a deserving candidate for the Russ Jackson award.”