In a season defined by team defense (plus crucial fouls) and exceptional individual defensive players, for the first time in its history the CFL has named a defensive lineman the league’s most valuable player. B.C. Lions linebacker Solomon Elimimian broke the CFL all-time single-season record with 143 tackles and also set a new benchmark with 151 tackles this year. In his fifth year with the Lions, Elimimian had five sacks and three fumble recoveries.
He became the first player in league history to win the awards for outstanding rookie in 2010, and this year, the recognition as both the most outstanding defensive player and most outstanding player.
Elimimian, who played for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, is the first CFL player to record at least 10 or more tackles in six games.
“I don’t think people understand how mentally difficult it was every week to go out there and perform,” he told the Canadian Press. “In a sport like football playing the position I play it was tough and the more and more we kept going the more pressure there was. It was the most emotional season I’ve had in my whole career.”
And Elimimian, 28, said he’s only getting started. “I just feel like mentally I’m starting to come into my own. My thing was I knew I was going to dominate every game, it was just about how much I was going to dominate.”
