Jon Cornish has come full circle, going from B.C. high school player of the year to Canada’s best.
The Calgary Stampeders running back was named the winner of the the Lou Marsh Award as Canada’s athlete of the year on Monday. Cornish is the first CFL player in 44 years to win the prestigious award.
Cornish was selected from a talented shortlist that included bobsleigh world champion Kaillie Humphries, rising tennis star Milos Raonic, world figure skating champion Patrick Chan, decathlete Damien Warner and Hart Trophy winner Jonathan Toews, of the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.
The New Westminster product won the CFL rushing title this season with 1,813 yards, breaking the long-standing record he set a year ago for most rushing yards by a Canadian in a single season.
In doing so, the 29-year-old former University of Kansas Jayhawk registered the fourth-highest single-season rushing total in CFL history. He also led the league with 14 touchdowns and 2,157 total yards from scrimmage.
Quarterback Russ Jackson was the last CFLer to win the Lou Marsh. Jackson won the title in 1969 after capturing the CFL's most outstanding player award and leading the Ottawa Rough Riders to a Grey Cup championship.
In high school, Cornish rushed for more than 3,200 career yards and was a three-year letterwinner at STM. He was also named the first-ever provincial high school player of the year.
In college, Cornish set the single season rushing record at Kansas with 1,457 yards, and was selected to the All-Big 12 first team as a senior. He was twice named the school’s offensive team MVP.
In his first full season as a starter in the CFL, Cornish broke the legendary Normie Kwong’s 56-year-old single-season rushing record.
This season, Cornish was named the CFL’s most outstanding player, while also winning the outstanding Canadian award for a second consecutive season.
