Hamilton Tiger-Cats bring Canadian veteran out of retirement; club announces CFL award nominees

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Published October 26, 2022 at 11:30 am

Mike Daly is pausing his coaching career to put on the pads.

The seven-season CFL defensive back, who last played in the 2021 Grey Cup game at Tim Hortons Field, has been signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in order to add depth for the playoffs. Daly, 32, has spent this year coaching in his hometown with the Laurier Golden Hawks of Ontario University Athletics, and has also contributed to the Ticats Audio Network, where he has co-hosting Tiger-Cats Game Day alongside Courtney Stephen, a former defensive-secondary mate.

Daly, a six-foot-one, 189-pound Kitchener native who developed his skills with the McMaster Marauders, has played 91 games over seven seasons with the Ticats (2014-21). Over that time, he tallied 150 total tackles, including 101 defensive tackles, one quarterback sack, two forced fumbles, eight interceptions and one touchdown.

Fifth-season veteran Tunde Adeleke is the Tiger-Cats’ starter at safety, the defensive back position that is almost always staffed by a Canadian. Fellow national Stavros Katsantonis is the next man up at that spot.

The Tiger-Cats (7-10), who are on a three-win streak, will likely be holding out some players for the regular-season finale against the Ottawa Redblacks (4-13) on Saturday (Oct. 29, 5 p.m., TSN/RDS/Ticats Audio Network). The club will face the Montréal Alouettes (8-9) in the East Division semifinal on Nov. 6, with the Toronto Argonauts awaiting the winner in the East final on Nov. 13.

Daly has been the defensive backs and special teams assistant coach for Laurier this season. The Golden Hawks finished fourth in OUA with a 5-3 record and earned a Yates Cup quarterfinal home game against the Carleton Ravens. That tilt takes place Saturday. Stoney Creek native and Tiger-Cats alumnus Corey Grant, who is the first-year head coach at Carleton, will be facing his alma mater in his first playoff game leading the Ravens.

White team’s nominatee for MOP; Small doubly nominated

Slotback Tim White is the Tiger-Cats’ nominee for the league most outstanding player award, which will be presented during Grey Cup week in Regina. The club announced their choices for league honours on Wednesday:

  • Most outstanding player: White, who is fourth in the CFL with 1,265 receiving yards and fifth with eight touchdown receptions.
  • Most outstanding defensive player: Linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox ranks third in the league in defensive plays (113), including 105 defensive tackles. That is just nine shy of the single-season record for the Tiger-Cats.
  • Most outstanding Canadian: The aforementioned Adeleke got the nod for the second season in a row. The Ottawa native ranks third on the Tiger-Cats in defensive plays (78) and has tallied 66 total tackles and eight pass knockdowns.
  • Most outstanding offensive lineman: Guard Brandon Revenberg is nominated for the third time in four seasons. He was also a finalist for the league honour in 2018 and ’21. Revenberg, a six-foot-4, 301-pound man-mover from Essex, Ont., has opened rushing lanes that have helped Wes Hills, Sean Thomas Erlington and Don Jackson give Hamilton a steady ground game during its playoff push.
  • Most outstanding special team players and most outstanding rookie: Kicker Seth Small is second in the league in field-goal percentage at 90 per cent, having gone 36-of-40 while also making 23-of-24 convert attempts. Small also matched the team record for longest field goal with his 58-yarder against Toronto at BMO Field on Aug. 28.

Each CFL team puts forward an in-house nomination for player awards. A finalist from each division is chosen before the winner is announced.

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