Truly outstanding Winnipeg running back Brady Oliveira claims historic CFL awards double, with Most Outstanding Player, Canadian honours By: Jeff Hamilton Posted: 11:28 PM CST Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024

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This article was published 14/11/2024 (333 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — When you look at how far Brady Oliveira has come just years into his CFL career, it’s hard not to wonder where he might go.

The Winnipeg native has been on a meteoric rise since joining the CFL as a rookie in 2019, and especially since taking over as the full-time running back for the Blue Bombers in 2022. Since then, Oliveira has made a serious name for himself, not just as the best running back in the three-down game, but as the best player across the entire league.

That was merely opinion until Thursday night, when Oliveira took home his second consecutive Most Outstanding Canadian award before being given the CFL’s most prestigious honour as the Most Outstanding Player.

That Oliveira is Canadian is certainly special, and it’s also quite rare. There’s been just four Canadians to sweep the MOP and MOC awards in league history, with Oliveira the first since Calgary running back Jon Cornish achieved the feat in 2013, followed by Hamilton tight end Tony Gabriel in 1978 and quarterback Russ Jackson, who did it in 1963, 1966 and 1969 while with Ottawa.

Oliveira is the first Winnipegger to win the award, achieving something his mentor and predecessor Andrew Harris, another hometown star, never could over his brilliant 14-year CFL career. Oliveira fell just short and was arguably robbed of winning the MOP last season, as the award went to Argos quarterback Chad Kelly despite Oliveira having more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

Speaking of redemption, what’s still missing for the former Oak Park High School standout is a third Grey Cup ring, and the first as Winnipeg’s feature running back, after falling in the championship game the last two years. Oliveira would love nothing more than to bring the Cup back to his hometown, which could come as early as Sunday when the Bombers take on the Argos in the 111th Grey Cup at BC Place.

That would mark yet another chapter in Oliveira’s thrilling story, one that is still very much unfinished. To get a better idea of just how impressive Oliveira has been this year and where he might go, we sought out some of the game’s most impressive players to give some insight into how a kid from Winnipeg became the best of the bunch in the CFL.

Zach Collaros first joined the Bombers in 2019, when Oliveira was a rookie and had broken his ankle months earlier. Oliveira would take over from Harris as the No. 1 running back in 2022 and in that season registered his first of three-straight 1,000-yard rushing campaigns, with the last two enough to lead the league.

“It’s his consistency, his dependability, his reliability. I’ve said this before about him, and somebody has told me this in the past, and it’s the truth, his availability is so impressive. To play 18 games at running back in this league is a testament to his work ethic, his commitment to the team and his toughness. If you’re able to play 18 games, I think you’re going to get these accolades and he’s deserving. He’s an outstanding player, but it’s the fact that he has the toughness to go out there and strap that s— up every week, that’s the most impressive to me.”

Winnipeg’s Stanley Bryant is the best offensive lineman in CFL history and the only player ever to be named the Most Outstanding Lineman on four separate occasions. Bryant has played in front of a lot of quality running backs over his 14-year career in three-down football. He said there are few, if any, players as effective as Oliveira.

“He’ll go down as one of the best backs to ever play in the CFL.”–Stanley Bryant, Bombers teammate and four-time CFL Most Outstanding Lineman

“He loves and is passionate about the game of football. He’s a very physical runner. He can run it and catch it. He’s a great blocker as well. I mean, what can’t he do? He saves dogs for a living, too. Brady’s just growing and growing and getting better and better. It’s good for the league and it’s also good for him. He’ll go down as one of the best backs to ever play in the CFL.”

Bo Levi Mitchell dominated the CFL for the better part of a decade with the Calgary Stampeders, winning two Grey Cups and being named MOP following the 2016 and 2018 seasons. The now Hamilton Tiger-Cats QB has marvelled at Oliveira’s rise in the CFL, and while it was tough to watch up close this season, Mitchell was singing his praises for the impact Oliveira had in Winnipeg’s last-minute, game-winning drive to defeat the Ticats, 26-23, back in Week 12.

“They have a drive to go win the game, there’s like a minute and a half left and they hand him the ball seven times. They clearly have a lot of trust in that guy. There are some great guys in front of him, and there’s a lot of receivers doing amazing blocking, and they’ve got some receivers that are very scary, that you’ve got to respect. But Brady is a back that, when the ball is in his hands, man, he can go the distance. He can run you over. He can juke you, and he blocks. As a quarterback, I respect the hell out of that, seeing a guy that is willing to put his face in somebody else’s face so you can get the ball off in time. It shows a lot about who that guy is, as a team-guy. His off-season stuff, too, you see the way the guy works. He’s a beast, man.”

Austin Mack quickly made a name for himself as a first-year CFLer in 2023, turning his 1,000-yard receiving season with the Montreal Alouettes into a contract with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Things didn’t work out down south and Mack returned to the Alouettes earlier this year. He’s seen a lot of skilled players over his career, with additional NFL stops in San Francisco, Tennessee and New York (Giants). So, if he’s willing to give such praise to Oliveira, you know he’s not blowing smoke.

“Brady is somebody that runs the football extremely hard and he’s one of the key pieces to that offence. For him to do that every single day, consistently, stay healthy, that’s huge, especially at the running back position. Seeing what he does with the football — the energy, the explosiveness, having contact and running through guys and making what should be three-yard gains, eight, nine or 10 yards. The dude is just fiery, man, and he seems like a real great person off the field.”

Ka’Deem Carey will be the running back for the enemy on Sunday, in what’s been a solid season with the Argos. Carey has been named a CFL all-star once and is a three-time divisional all-star, and while in college, in 2013, was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year with the University of Arizona. Oliveira helped open Carey’s eyes to the talent up in Canada and he feels the Bombers tailback proudly carries that torch for his country.

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“I give that man all his flowers, just you see him grow and learn from Harris, to become his own man and his own running back, and to play the game in his own way. He’s the best in the game right now, and he makes me better by competing for that number one spot. He’s taken it the last two years and I love to see that, coming from Canada, man, beating the U.S. running backs. Coming into this league, Americans sometimes laugh at the Canadians, saying they ain’t this, they ain’t that. I didn’t fall into that. I’m happy for him to hold that Canadian badge on his shoulder this year. But next year, I’m definitely going to try and take it from him.”

Jake Ceresna’s eight sacks tied for the league lead in 2024. The Argo defensive lineman is widely considered to be among the best inside tackles in the three-down game. He’s responsible for plugging holes for running backs and has become quite familiar with Oliveira, both as a bruising tailback and quality blocker.

“I just respect how hard he works. You can see it out there, that he’s a grinder in how hard he plays for his team. He’s fighting for every yard out there for his guys. Being a competitor, a guy on another team, you got to respect that. He’s a great player and is the best running back in the league. I love playing against the best and he’s it.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.