Eskimos tailback Jerome Messam named CFL’s outstanding Canadian player

VANCOUVER – Running back Jerome Messam of the Edmonton Eskimos was named the CFL’s outstanding Canadian on Thursday night.

Messam, a Toronto native who grew up in Brampton, Ont., received the award in voting conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the CFL’s eight head coaches.

Kicker Sean Whyte of the Montreal Alouettes was the finalist.

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The six-foot-three, 245-pound Messam thrived in Edmonton after being dealt to the Eskimos by the B.C. Lions prior to the start of the season.

Messam finished third in CFL rushing with 1,057 yards to become the first Canadian-born player to surpass the 1,000-yard plateau since B.C.’s Sean Millington in 2000.

But Messam’s season ended with a knee injury in Edmonton’s West Division semifinal victory over the Calgary Stampeders.

Whyte, obtained by Montreal in an off-season trade with B.C., hit 45-of-52 field goals (86.5 per cent) and at one point this year connected on 22 straight. The native of Surrey, B.C., finished tied for second in CFL scoring with 197 points.