Three members of the BC Lions have earned CFL All-Star nods in 2017. Solomon Elimimian, Bryan Burnham and Ty Long have each been recognized for their various contributions. This comes on the heels of all three being tabbed for Western Division All-Star selections last month.
This is Elimimian’s fourth CFL All-Star selection, and it was well earned after recording 144 defensive tackles to break the single season league record he set in 2014. He set a new career-high with 15 defensive tackles in a 23-16 win at Montreal on July 6th. That total was one short of Calvin Tiggle’s all-time single game record. Elimimian was also the club’s finalist for Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive honours.
A second consecutive season of over 1,000 receiving yards has earned Burnham a first CFL All-Star nod. Burnham finished the season with a team-leading 1,202 yards, 81 receptions, and seven touchdowns. The University of Tulsa product had three consecutive games of over 100 yards, his best performance coming in a victory at Winnipeg October 28th. In addition, he made perhaps the touchdown catch of the year to help his team take down the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on July 15th. Burnham also earned a second straight Western Division All-Star nod for his efforts.
Long emerged as one of the most pleasant surprises of 2017, earning the club’s nomination for both Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Special Teams honours. The high school teammate of ex-Lions kicker Richie Leone, Long recovered from a week one loss to Edmonton where he missed a go ahead convert in the late stages of a 30-27 loss.
“I think I came back and learned from it by getting better each week,” Long said.
“Even the next game at Toronto I went 3-for-3 and began to limit those rookie mistakes. I enjoy doing all three kicking duties and really enjoy playing in BC. I tried to make the most out of every game and get better every single week.”
He led the CFL with 5,556 punting yards, was fifth in field goals made and also proved to be ‘M. Automatic’ from inside the 40-yard line, hitting 22 of 23 attempts. Long also finished his rookie season by making 18 straight field goal attempts overall.
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com