Trio of Riders Among the Finalists for Seven C-F-L Awards

Photo credit: Facebook Saskatchewan Roughriders

The Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal Alouettes top the list of teams with numbers of players named as finalists for the seven C-F-L Awards that were announced Thursday morning.

Corey Mace of the Green and White, along with Jason Maas of the Als, are the division finalists for Coach-of-the-Year. Riders’ defensive back Rolan Milligan Junior is the West nominee for Most Outstanding Defensive Player, going up against Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette. In addition, Saskatchewan born, raised and developed guard Logan Ferland is up against Ryan Hunter of Toronto for the Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman honour. Winnipeg running back Brady Oliveira and Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell have been named the West and East Division nominees for the C-F-L’s Most Outstanding Player award. The league winner will be unveiled at the C-F-L Awards on Thursday, November 14th in Vancouver. Voting will be conducted by the national and local members of the Football Reporters of Canada and the C-F-L’s nine head coaches. The Jake Gaudaur Veterans’ Award and Tom Pate Memorial Award will also be handed out. Following is a news release from the Riders…..

MACE, MILLIGAN JR. AND FERLAND NAMED WEST DIVISION AWARD FINALISTS

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are proud to announce three members of the 2024 team were named West Division Award Finalists, including Head Coach Corey Mace (Coach of the Year), Rolan Milligan Jr. (Most Outstanding Defensive Player) and Logan Ferland (Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman).

COREY MACE – WEST DIVISION COACH OF THE YEAR

In his first year as the Head Coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Corey Mace has led the team a second-place finish and its first home playoff game since 2021, showing Rider Nation and the football team how to #BuildIt brick by brick.

Mace joined the Club as Head Coach in November of 2023, making an immediate impression from the moment he stepped off the plane in Regina. Throughout the season, he showed incredible focus, leadership and tenacity as he worked to create a team and team culture of which Saskatchewan could be proud of. His hard work paid off with a strong 9-8-1 finish in the regular season and a postseason berth.

The Port Moody, B.C. native is also the leader of an exceptional defence, statistically ranked first overall by the CFL [1], and with top-3 regular season finishes in several statistical categories including first place in:

Opposition rushing yards allowed (80.3 yards/game)
Opposition turnovers (49)
Turnover ratio (+26)
Forced fumbles (17)
Fumbles recovered (14)

Second place in:

Opposition net offence (356.1 yards/game)
Team interceptions (24)
Tackles for a loss (37)

Third place in:

Points allowed (434; 24.1/game)
Sacks (38)
Passing touchdowns (27)
Sacks allowed (35; tied)

In addition, Mace coached eight Roughriders to West Division All-CFL honours, including Trevor Harris, Samuel Emilus, Logan Ferland, Micah Johnson, Jameer Thurman, C.J. Reavis, Rolan Milligan Jr. (two) and Marcus Sayles.

On top of his demands as Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator, Mace is committed to the Saskatchewan community and has spent countless hours giving back through speaking engagements, children’s hospital visits and attending charitable events and encouraging the team to do the same.

ROLAN MILLIGAN JR. – MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER

There is no better word than outstanding to describe the season Rolan Milligan Jr. is having for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. A leader on defence and a noted ballhawk opposing quarterbacks must always account for, Milligan Jr. is always ready to make a play on the football. He is responsible for 111 defensive plays this season, ranking fifth in the CFL (and first among non-linebackers). He has made a league-leading eight interceptions (sixth all-time in Rider history) and if he’s not picking it off, he’s knocking it down, registering 10 pass deflections (fourth in the CFL). Milligan Jr. also made 71 defensives tackles, including two for a loss, in 16 regular-season games. The Florida native was named the top defensive back in the CFL by Pro Football Focus in Weeks 1, 5 and 17, and the top special teams player for the month of June. In addition to his many accomplishments on defence, Milligan Jr. is also an impact player on special teams, ranking second in the CFL and first on the team with 20 special teams tackles.

Milligan Jr. was the team’s nominee in three awards categories: Most Outstanding Player, Most Outstanding Defensive Player and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.

LOGAN FERLAND – MOST OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE LINEMAN

It was a year of constant change on the Roughriders’ offensive line due to injury, but Logan Ferland was a pillar of consistency. The Saskatchewan native suited up for all 18 regular season games in 2024 and showed incredible tenacity and versatility, playing every position along the line except left guard this season, sometimes being required to make the change mid-game.

Ferland was the opening-day starter at right guard, where he made 11 starts, but didn’t miss a beat when he was pressed into action at right tackle (one start) and most recently at centre where he has started the last six games. He was named the top offensive lineman for the month of July by Pro Football Focus and was the top-rated offensive lineman in Week 6.

Although the Roughriders have encountered injury-related adversity on the offensive line, Ferland is the leader of a unit that has allowed just 35 sacks. His play has contributed to Saskatchewan also leading all playoff-bound West Division teams in points scored (453), offensive touchdowns (45), touchdown passes (27) and passer efficiency (98.1). For its efforts, the offensive line was awarded top marks by Pro Football Focus in Weeks 7, 13 and 16.

The 27-year-old Ferland has been the Roughriders’ team nominee for Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman for three straight seasons.