Four Hamilton Tiger-Cats named 2021 CFL all-stars; Winnipeg Blue Bombers lead with 11

The 2021 Canadian Football League all-star selections were announced Wednesday (Dec. 15), which included four members of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats: offensive guard Brandon Revenberg, linebacker Simoni Lawrence, cornerback Jumal Rolle, and defensive halfback Cariel Brooks.

The Ticats had the second-highest number of all-stars selected. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers lead the league with 11 selections, highlighted by quarterback Zach Collaros.

The all-stars were selected by 50 voters consisting of members of the Football Reporters of Canada and the CFL’s head coaches.

TEAM BREAKDOWN

11 – Winnipeg Blue Bombers
4 – Hamilton Tiger-Cats
3 – Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders
2 – BC Lions, Ottawa REDBLACKS, Toronto Argonauts

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BY THE NUMBERS

16 – West Division All-Stars
11 – East Division All-Stars
4 – National CFL All-Stars

MULTIPLE CAREER CFL ALL-STAR SELECTIONS

6x – Adam Bighill, Stanley Bryant
5x – Rene Paredes
4x – Bryan Burnham, Willie Jefferson, Richie Leone
3x – Brandon Revenberg, Simoni Lawrence
2x – Sean McEwen, William Stanback

Revenberg, 28, started all 14 regular season and three postseason games at left guard for the Tiger-Cats in 2021, earning his third consecutive CFL and divisional all-star appointments. The 6-4, 301-pound native of Essex, Ontario was also named the East Division’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman for the second time in his career, previously earning the honour in 2018. Through five CFL seasons (2016-21), the durable offensive lineman has yet to miss a game due to injury (regular season or playoffs) and was also the Tiger-Cats’ Most Outstanding Canadian nominee in 2019.

Lawrence, 32, earned his third-career CFL All-Star and East Division Most Outstanding Defensive Player selections in 2021, previously earning both honours in the 2015 and 2019 seasons. The 6-1, 231-pound native of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania started all 14 regular season and three postseason games at linebacker for the Tiger-Cats in 2021, leading the CFL in interception return touchdowns (tie-2), and ranking fifth in defensive tackles (73) and sixth in interceptions (tie-3). He was also seventh in the league in defensive plays made (tie-85), was second among all linebackers in quarterback sacks (4) and added three pass knock downs.

Lawrence also earned his fifth-career East Division All-Star selection (2014, 15, 16, 19, 21) and was named Hamilton’s Most Outstanding Player for the first time in his career this season. In addition, he was named a CFL Top Performer for Week 7 and a CFL Top Performer of the Month in September.

The University of Minnesota product now holds the Tiger-Cats’ franchise record in career total tackles with 609. In the final game of the 2021 season, Lawrence surpassed previous record-holder, Rob Hitchcock, who finished with 606 total tackles in his career as a Ticat. Lawrence also currently sits 17th in league history with 617 career defensive tackles.

Rolle, 31, was named a CFL and East Division All-Star for the first time in his career in 2021. The 6-0, 190-pound native of Wilson, North Carolina started all 14 regular season and three postseason games for the Tiger-Cats at both field and boundary cornerback, leading the CFL in pass knockdowns (11) while registering 40 defensive tackles, three special teams tackles and two interceptions. He returned one of his interceptions 87 yards for a touchdown – the second-longest defensive return touchdown of the 2021 CFL season.

Brooks, 30, was named a CFL All-Star for the first time in his career in 2021 and earned divisional all-star honours for the second time after previously getting the nod in 2018. The 5-10, 200-pound native of Miami, Florida started 12 regular season and three postseason games at defensive halfback for the Tiger-Cats in 2021, leading the CFL in interceptions (tie-5) while adding 23 defensive tackles, one quarterback sack and three pass knock downs.