Best in Class: Reilly wins first MOP

CFL.ca Staff

OTTAWA — Mike Reilly capped his best season so far in the Canadian Football League by taking home Most Outstanding Player honours on Thursday night at the Shaw CFL Awards.

“To be a great team, you have to have great players,” Reilly told members of the media after he accepted his award. “And we do have a great team so I know we have great players. I’m proud for my team that we can bring this trophy back and I’m sure the city of Edmonton is excited.”

The 32-year-old hit career highs in 2017 in passing yards (5,830), passing touchdowns (30) and rushing touchdowns (12) on the way to leading the Edmonton Eskimos to the Western Final.

Reilly became the first Edmonton Eskimo to win the league’s top honour since 1989 when Tracy Ham took home the accolade. He also became the seventh Eskimo player to win the award, making it nine times that the award has gone to Edmonton.

RELATED: Hats Off: Reilly’s journey spoken through those who know him best

Reilly improved his career record in the CFL to 45-33 and it was the third consecutive season he has been named Edmonton’s Most Outstanding Player.

The Kennewick, WA native led Edmonton to a 12-6 record in the ultra-competitive West Division, becoming the first 12-win team to finish third in the division. The Eskimos led the league in passing yards.

Reilly received 64 first-place votes and Toronto Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray was runner up.

“I said out there that Ricky was just as deserving as me to win this award they had to pick somebody,” Reilly said. “There’s not enough words for me to describe positively about Ricky Ray, you’ve probably heard them all and they’re all true.”

Even though Reilly left the Shaw Centre in downtown Ottawa with impressive hardware, he still would have traded places with the quarterback who is playing in the 105th Grey Cup.

“If I could put Ricky up here, and I could be getting back into a cab to the hotel with my teammates, I would do it immediately,” he said. “Unfortunately we don’t get to make that choice, so I hope my teammates see that for what it is, which is an award we won together and something we can be proud of.”

Follow CFL