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Instant impact rookies are popping up across the Canadian Football League.
To qualify for the Most Outstanding Rookie Award, a player cannot have played in a regular season game either in the NFL or CFL before the 2015 season. So with that stipulation in mind here are my top 10 rookie performers through Week 4. We’ll update this list once every month or so to account for risers and fallers among all rooks.
1) Rakeem Cato, QB, Alouettes
Rakeem has been a dream find for Montreal. Most impressively Cato has guided the Alouettes to a 2-1 record in his first three CFL starts. He’s earned two wins against a pair of the league’s toughest defences in Calgary and Hamilton. Cato’s 72 per cent completion percentage keeps Montreal’s offence moving.
2) John Ojo, DB, Eskimos
Edmonton’s rangy cover man has interceptions in two straight games – thanks Bad Hank. His pick-six in Week 3 seemed to wake up an Eskimos team that was off to a slow start. Ojo has solidified the Eskimos’ strong-side part of the secondary along with Aaron Grymes.
3) Khalil Bass, LB, Bombers
The Blue Bombers seem to have caught a good one in Bass. He’s been compared to Eskimos standout Dexter McCoil, the 2014 CFL Rookie of the Year who has the ability to rush the passer, play tough against the run and cover. Bass has displayed similar capabilities while racking up 19 tackles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries in four games.
4) Ray Holley, RB, Ticats
Hamilton’s rookie back went from air conditioner installer to starting running back in a matter of months. Holley’s been productive when he’s had the football in his hands (87 yards rushing and 97 receiving with one touchdown) and has excelled as a blocker, a vitally important aspect in Tommy Condell and Kent Austin’s offence.
5) Vidal Hazelton, REC, Argos
The current top producer among Toronto’s trio of first-year CFL receivers (12 catches for 161 yards and one touchdown), Hazelton is the only one of those three who could officially be a three-down rookie of the year candidate. No. 21’s touchdown catch in Week 1 gave the Argos the lead for good and it’s propelled him to a strong start.
6) Richie Leone, K/P, Lions
The Lions let veteran Paul McCallum go because they believed Leone could upgrade the Lions’ kicking game, and the 23-year-old has made that look like a smart decision. Leone leads the CFL with a 49-yard punting average and he owns the longest field goal made so far in 2015, a clutch 56-yard boot that tied the game with regulation time winding down in BC’s Week 3 overtime win.
7) Boris Bede, K/P, Alouettes
Montreal’s France-born kicker leads all point-scorers in the CFL with 35. Bede has made good on all 10 of his field goal attempts and he’s punted the football well too. It appears the Alouettes have found a player capable of handling all kicking duties.
8) Shakir Bell, RB, Eskimos
Bell burst onto the scene in Week 4 with an 18-carry, 144-yard rushing effort that paced the Eskimos to a win over Ottawa in the driving rain. Edmonton’s five-foot-eight, 185-pound back surely earned himself a chance to run with the starting job for at least a little while.
9) Jeff Knox Jr., LB, Riders
Knox has been flying around making tackles in Rider green. Even though Saskatchewan is 0-4 the Riders defence has improved each time out in the last three games and Knox’s play has been one of the main reasons why. Knox’s 23 tackles slot him third in the league after four weeks.
10) Jason Foster, OL, Lions
Jeff Tedford brought Foster with him from Tampa Bay to BC and he’s really solidified BC’s offensive line. He’s been strong at centre and hasn’t allowed any pressure to come streaking up the middle at Travis Lulay – Foster’s emergence has given Lulay the time to get comfortable on the field again.
Top Canadian Rookie
Sukh Chungh, OL, Bombers
Winnipeg’s No. 2 overall pick from the 2015 CFL Draft has stepped right in and started from the get-go for the Bombers. He’s quickly assimilated to the level of play in the trenches and certainly does not look out of place. Chungh is a key part of a reworked Bombers’ front line.
