Tyson Philpot: CFL voters got it right picking Davis Alexander for Most Outstanding Player

Photo: Vincent Ethier/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

There was plenty of debate in recent weeks regarding who deserved to be named the Most Outstanding Player in the CFL.

There were two clear favourites: Davis Alexander and Tyson Philpot, both of the Montreal Alouettes. Under the league’s previous awards format, it was impossible for teammates to be finalists for the same award, though the format was changed this year.

Last week, Alexander was announced as the league’s M.O.P., while Philpot was the runaway winner for Most Outstanding Canadian. The selection drew some criticism from fans and pundits, but Philpot believes the correct decision was made.

“I think what Davis did with the football deserves to be the M.O.P.,” said the veteran receiver on Thursday. “If I would have won, I know he would have been in my corner. If he would have won, I was always going to be in his corner.”

“Absolutely, (the voters got it right). When you look at the M.O.P., I think what encapsulates that is someone making everyone else better, and I think there’s nobody else better at doing that than Davis Alexander.”

The vote wasn’t particularly close.

52 members of the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) cast ballots, which included first, second, and third-place designations. The ballots were subsequently made public.

Alexander garnered 40 first-place votes and 12 second-place votes. Philpot received the other 12 first-place votes along with 30 second-place votes and four third-place votes. Six voters did not have Philpot on their ballots: Simoni Lawrence, Gilbert Ngabo, Greg Peterson, Matthieu Proulx, Frank Stanisci, and Herb Zurkowsky.

Since 2000, the M.O.P. award has been given to a quarterback 19 out of 26 times, a rate of 73.1 percent. Non-quarterbacks to win include running backs Jon Cornish and Brady Oliveira, receivers Brandon Banks, Chad Owens, Geroy Simon, and Milt Stegall, and linebacker Solomon Elimimian.

Alexander’s victory led some critics to argue the award can only be won by quarterbacks, but Philpot doesn’t see it that way.

“Maybe I’ll go get 2,000 yards and I can be the M.O.P,” said Philpot. “I watched [Banks] win it and I watched [Oliveira] win it, too, so I’ve watched non-QBs win, and I was pushing for it. Davis knows that, too, but at the end of the day, this is the ultimate goal to win this Grey Cup, and everything else is just an afterthought.”

The 26-year-old target already has Grey Cup hardware to his name, having been named the game’s Most Valuable Canadian back in 2023.

Based on the season he had in 2026, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Philpot added to his growing list of accolades on Sunday.

The Montreal Alouettes (15-4) and Edmonton Elks (14-5) will meet in the 113th Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium in Calgary on Sunday, November 15, with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET.

The Alouettes and Elks split their two meetings during the regular season. In June, Edmonton won 32-29 in overtime at Commonwealth Stadium, as running back Justin Rankin recorded 230 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. In August, Montreal won 48-30 at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, led by a 131-yard, three-touchdown performance from Tyson Philpot.

The weather forecast in Calgary calls for a high of 10 degrees with a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN, CTV, RDS, and Crave in Canada, and CFL+ internationally.