MONTREAL – Fourth-year University of Calgary quarterback Andrew Buckley made history Thursday night, becoming the first player to win both the Hec Crighton Trophy and the Russ Jackson Award.
Buckley received the honours at the Sun Life Financial CIS All-Canadian Gala at the Sheraton Centre in Montreal, ahead of Saturday's 50th TELUS Vanier Cup at Percival Molson Stadium.
It's the second time in as many years Buckley has earned the Russ Jackson Award for academics, athletics, and citizenship, but the second-year starter – who got the Dinos' starting pivot job early in 2013 due to injury – added the crown jewel of CIS football awards in 2014 with his Hec Crighton win as the most outstanding player in the nation.
He added a first-team All-Canadian award to his impressive haul Thursday night, joining five teammates on the national first all-star team. Three more Dinos earned second team All-Canadian status.
"Very few quarterbacks have been able to pass and run as effectively as Andrew Buckley," said Dinos head coach Blake Nill. "His statistics are very impressive, but what is more impressive is that he only played the equivalent of 6.25 games – and there is no question his stats would have been even greater had he played more. He is an outstanding leader and competitor, he reads exceptionally well, and he is extremely humble and unselfish."
He beat out Laval quarterback Hugo Richard, Wilfrid Laurier running back Dillon Campbell, and Acadia receiver Brian Jones for the Hec Crighton Trophy. Other Russ Jackson nominees included Sean Stoqua (Acadia), Alexandre Laganière (Montreal), and Adam Dickson (McMaster).
The 6-foot, 201-pound Buckley was at the controls of the nation's most potent offence in 2014, leading the Dinos to school records in points, touchdowns, and total offence – and they led the nation in all three categories. They became the first team in Canada West history to break the 5,000-yard mark in total offence, adding 51 touchdowns and 419 points to their gaudy statistics totals.
A fourth-year kinesiology student, Buckley was in the centre of it all. His surgical passing led to a 64.3 completion percentage, 2,175 passing yards, and 18 touchdowns through the air, and he threw fewer interceptions than any other starting quarterback in Canada West, boasting an incredible 4.5 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
And just as he did it through the air, Buckley did it with his legs as well. Buckley finished fifth in Canada West in rushing with 510 yards, averaging nearly 64 per game. His yards-per-carry average was the best in Canada at 10.6, and he ran for more yards than any other quarterback in the country this season. He also scored 10 rushing touchdowns – the second-highest total among all players in CIS. And he did it all despite having to fight for his position in training camp, where he beat out the 2012 Canada West MVP, Eric Dzwilewski, for the starting job.
Perhaps most impressively, Buckley did all that while playing the equivalent of just 6.25 games on the season after the Dinos built up early leads in many of their contests en route to a 6-2 record and the No. 2 national ranking for all but the final two Top 10 polls of the season.
Away from the field, the graduate of Calgary's Rundle College is an honours student in the Faculty of Kinesiology and hopes to follow his father's footsteps into a career in orthopedic surgery following graduation. A three-time Academic All-Canadian in the classroom, he has been involved in several research studies, including one looking at a new method to reduce stiffness of the elbow joint by testing difference trial doses of a promising drug. The findings of this study were presented in 2014 at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (Tampa, Fla.) and the Canadian Orthopaedic Association (Montreal).
Andrew has always made it a priority to give back to his school, his community, and other great causes. Andrew volunteers with Alberta Health Services, where he is paired with two elderly Alzheimer's patients, providing companionship for three hours per week as well as relief for full-time caregivers. He embarked on a 10-day humanitarian trip to Guatemala to build efficient wood-burning stoves to replace dangerous open fires within homes.
Buckley becomes the fourth Dino to capture the Hec Crighton, following quarterback Greg Vavra (1983), receiver Don Blair (1995), and pivot Erik Glavic (2009). The Russ Jackson honour, meanwhile, is also the fourth for the University of Calgary after wins by Elio Geremia in 1987 and Lincoln Blumell in 2002 along with Buckley's 2013 victory.
Other award winners announced Thursday included Saint Mary's linebacker Jonathan Langa, who captured the Presidents' Trophy as defensive player of the year; Ottawa defensive tackle Ettore Lattanzio, who merited the J.P. Metras Trophy as most outstanding down lineman; Laval quarterback Hugo Richard, who received the Peter Gorman Trophy as top rookie; and Mount Allison head coach Kelly Jeffrey, who claimed the Frank Tindall Trophy.
2014 CIS FOOTBALL MAJOR AWARDS
Hec Crighton Trophy (Most Outstanding Player): Andrew Buckley, CALGARY
Presidents' Trophy (Outstanding Defensive Player): Jonathan Langa, Saint Mary's
J.P. Metras Trophy (Outstanding Down Lineman): Ettore Lattanzio, Ottawa
Peter Gorman Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Hugo Richard, Laval
Russ Jackson Award (Athletics, Academics, Citizenship): Andrew Buckley, CALGARY
Frank Tindall Trophy (Coach of the Year): Kelly Jeffrey, Mount Allison
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