Fajardo, Judge, Dickenson named finalists for CFL awards

Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo will be in Calgary for Grey Cup Week later this month.

The 27-year-old quarterback hopes it’s to play in a game and not just for the CFL awards ceremony.

Fajardo was named the West Division’s nominee for the league award as most outstanding player Thursday after putting together a 13-win campaign in his first year as a starting quarterback.

But an oblique injury has Roughriders fans wondering how effective Fajardo can be in the West Division final Nov. 17.

“It’s getting better each day. The medical staff and myself have been working tirelessly to just get it where it needs to be,” Fajardo said at Mosaic Stadium.

“I don’t think I’ll be out (at practice on Friday), just to give it as much time as possible. Once we figure out who we’re playing, then it’s a little bit different. Then we’re kind of pressed into action.”

Along with Fajardo, Roughriders linebacker Cameron Judge and head coach Craig Dickenson are also nominees for league awards. Judge has been deemed the West’s most outstanding Canadian, and Dickenson is up for coach of the year.

Fajardo injured his oblique during a closed practice as the team prepared for its game Saturday against the Edmonton Eskimos. He didn’t play, but the Roughriders won 23-13.

Fajardo said he finally threw a ball — a wiffle football — on Thursday.

“(I) felt pretty good about it and knowing I have five, six more days is actually pretty awesome to know,” he said.

But just like he said following the win over Edmonton, Fajardo expects to take the field on Nov. 17.

“No matter how painful it is, no matter what the situation happens in practice, I will be on the field for the West final,” Fajardo said.

Fajardo’s nomination comes after a season that saw him take full advantage of the opportunity put in front of him.

He was to be the Roughriders’ backup QB, but starter Zach Collaros suffered a concussion on the third offensive play of the season against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on June 13.

Fajardo went on to start all but one game for the Green and White after that, completing 338 of 473 pass attempts (71.5 per cent) for a league-leading 4,302 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also did a lot of damage on the ground, running for 611 yards and 10 scores.

Fajardo’s emergence led the Roughriders to a 13-5 record and first place in the West Division. It was Fajardo’s first year with the Roughriders and his play earned him a multi-year contract extension.

“At the beginning of the year if you would’ve told me I would be the West nominee for MOP, I would laugh at you and you would think I was crazy,” Fajardo said. “This year, and where it has been in my career, it has meant a lot to me personally.”

Fajardo will face Hamilton Tiger-Cats receiver Brandon Banks in the final round of voting.

Judge lived up to the expectations that came with being selected second overall in the 2017 CFL draft.

The 24-year-old enjoyed his best season as a pro in 2019, recording 61 tackles, five sacks, a forced fumble and two interceptions.

He returned his second interception of the season for a touchdown against the Eskimos on Saturday, a major that clinched the win and gave the Roughriders the right to host the CFL’s West final.

Judge attributes his success to the amount of preparation he did throughout the season.

“I just committed to working hard all off-season and when I got up here, I committed myself to the film room. Film was probably my biggest step and it helped me a lot,” Judge said.

But getting these type of individual honours wasn’t a goal Judge set for himself.

“My biggest goal coming into the season was to just have fun. That’s really what I wanted to do and just let the rest take care of itself,” Judge said.

Judge’s competition for the CFL award is Montreal Alouettes linebacker Henoc Muamba, a former Roughrider.

Dickenson was the Roughriders’ special-teams co-ordinator before taking over as head coach after Chris Jones departed for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns in January.

Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson. (File photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

In his first season as a head coach, Dickenson guided Saskatchewan to first place in the West Division for the first time since 2009.

“(The nomination) means we’ve had a good year. I’ve never seen a coach of the year on a losing team,” Dickenson said. “If you have coach of the year, it usually means you’ve had a good season.”

Dickenson admitted his brother Dave — the Calgary Stampeders’ head coach and the CFL’s coach of the year in 2016 — hadn’t texted to congratulate him before he met with the media.

“He has got a game this week so they’re busy,” Dickenson said. “I’ll talk to him tonight I’m sure.”

The Stampeders will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday, with the winner travelling to Mosaic Stadium the following week.

Dickenson and Hamilton head coach Orlondo Steinauer are the finalists.

The Roughriders’ other nominees were defensive end Charleston Hughes (most outstanding defensive player), centre Dan Clark (most outstanding offensive lineman), guard Dakoda Shepley (most outstanding rookie) and punter Jon Ryan (most outstanding special-teams player).

Voting for the player awards was conducted by members of the Football Reporters of Canada and CFL head coaches.

The 2019 CFL player awards are to be handed out Nov. 21 at Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome.