Brandon Banks Named CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams Player
Published on November 26, 2015 under Canadian Football League (CFL)
Hamilton Tiger-Cats News Release
The Canadian Football League (CFL) announced today that Hamilton Tiger-Cats receiver/kick returner Brandon Banks has won the 2015 John Agro Award as the league's Most Outstanding Special Teams Player. The 2015 Shaw CFL Awards were handed out on Thursday night at the Club Regent Event Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Banks received 54 first place votes to win the award over West Division nominee Rene Paredes of the Calgary Stampeders. The two-time East Division All-Star led the league with four punt return touchdowns this season, one shy of the all-time CFL single-season record. Banks ranked third in the CFL in all-purpose yards (2,073) and punt return yards (930), and had six total touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving, four punt returns).
The 5-7, 153-pound native of Garner, North Carolina returned a missed single-point convert attempt 127 yards on November 7 versus Ottawa for the first missed convert return score in the history of the CFL. He also accumulated 324 all-purpose yards in two playoff games this season for the Tiger-Cats.
Banks becomes only the second Tiger-Cats player to win the award, the other being Chris Williams in 2012.
Tiger-Cats legend Bernie Custis was also honoured by the league on Thursday night, winning the 2015 Commissioner's Award, presented by Microsoft Surface. The award is given each year to an individual or group that has made an outstanding contribution to the development of football in Canada.
Custis was the first black starting quarterback in professional football history in 1951 with the Tiger-Cats, immediately earning all-star status in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, the forerunner of what is today the East Division of the CFL. He won a Grey Cup championship with Hamilton in 1953 and went on to a sterling coaching career at the junior, college and university levels. Custis is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the McMaster University Hall of Fame, and the Syracuse University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Canadian Football League Stories from November 26, 2015
- Five Trophies to RedBlacks at 2015 Shaw CFL Awards - Ottawa RedBlacks
- RedBlacks Quarterback Henry Burris Named Shaw CFL Most Outstanding Player - Ottawa RedBlacks
- Henry Burris Wins his Second Most Outstanding Player Award - CFL
- Brad Sinopoli Named 2015 Shaw CFL Top Canadian - Ottawa RedBlacks
- Rick Campbell Named 2015 AGF CFL Coach of the Year - Ottawa RedBlacks
- Bernie Custis Honoured with Commissioner's Award, Presented by Microsoft - CFL
- Brandon Banks Named CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams Player - Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- Derel Walker Named CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie - Edmonton Elks
- Bob Irving Wins the Hugh Campbell Distinguished Leadership Award - CFL
- Henry Burris Wins Tom Pate Memorial Award - Ottawa RedBlacks
- Adam Bighill Named CFL's 2015 Most Outstanding Defensive Player - B.C. Lions
- SirVincent Rogers Named 2015 CFL Most Outstanding Lineman - Ottawa RedBlacks
- Hazelton Honoured to be Nominated for CFL Most Outstanding Rookie - Toronto Argonauts
- 103rd Grey Cup Presented by Shaw Will be Most Accessible Grey Cup Game Ever - CFL
- Post Consumer Brands and the CFL: Fueling and Inspiring Kids - CFL
- CFL Officials Named for 103rd Grey Cup Presented by Shaw - CFL
- A Letter to the Fans from Argos New President & CEO Michael Copeland - Toronto Argonauts
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