MISSISSAUGA – The Toronto Argonauts Football Club would like to congratulate four Argonauts players on earning CFL All-Star honours in 2010. The Argos tied Winnipeg with the second-most CFL All-Stars in 2010 and four players is the most for the Double Blue since six Argos were named all-stars in 2007.
CFL All-Stars were selected by fans, Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) and CFL head coaches. The FRC voting panel consists of representation from each CFL market and a national chapter. In total, 53 members of the FRC voted for this year’s all-stars. Fans also contributed through the CFL All-Star Balloting Program and nearly half a million votes were cast by CFL fans across the country.
TORONTO’S 2010 CFL ALL-STAR SELECTIONS:
OFFENCE
RB Cory Boyd
OT Rob Murphy
DEFENCE
DT Kevin Huntley
SPECIAL TEAMS
KR/WR Chad Owens
RB Cory Boyd was named the Argos’ Most Outstanding Player and has now been recognized as one of the two best players at his position in the entire CFL. Boyd becomes the first Argos running back since Michael Jenkins in 2001 to be named a CFL All-Star. Boyd finished as the league’s second-leading rusher with 1,359 yards, scored eight (8) touchdowns (six rushing & two receiving) and was the club’s fifth-leading receiver (363 yards). Boyd led the CFL in yards from scrimmage with 1,722 and broke or matched several club records. This is the first time that Boyd has been named a CFL all-star.
DT Kevin Huntley is a mountain of a man who has led the Argos in quarterback sacks in each of the last two regular seasons. Huntley is the first Argos defensive tackle to be named a CFL All-Star since Noah Cantor in 2004. Coach Barker referred to him earlier this season as the best defensive tackle in the league and his nine sacks in 2010 tied him for fourth in the CFL, third in the East. He had two multi-sack games this season and finished second among Argos defensive linemen with 41 tackles. This the first time that Huntley has been named a CFL All-Star.
OT Rob Murphy is the nastiest player in the CFL, the Argos’ Most Outstanding Lineman, an East Division All-Star, and is now a CFL All-Star for the first time as an Argo. Murphy becomes the first Argos offensive tackle since Chris Perez in 1996 to earn the award. He was voted captain of the line at the start of the season and has more than exceeded expectations. Murphy started 16 games this season protecting his quarterback’s blindside and helped spring star RB Cory Boyd for a league-leading 1,722 yards from scrimmage. This is the third time in his career that he has been named CFL All-Star (two-time CFL All-Star in 2006-07), his first time as an Argo.
WR/KR Chad Owens was arguably the most exciting player in the 2010 CFL regular season and has been recognized as the East’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player. Owens becomes the first Argos player since Dominique Dorsey in 2008 to be named a CFL All-Star as a specialist. This season, he was busy re-writing team and league record books and was recently voted by his peers as being the biggest threat to score from anywhere on the field. The Fly’n Hawaiian led the CFL in punt return yards (1,060), punt return average (12.6), kickoff return yards (1,216), kickoff return average (22.9), missed field goal return yards (425) and tied for league lead with four (4) kick return touchdowns (4). He also became the fifth player in league history to accumulate 1,000 punt and kickoff return yards in a season. This is the first time Owens has been named a CFL All-Star.