In his first year as a bona fide Canadian Football League starter, kicker Sean Whyte made the most of his opportunity, and he may soon have some new hardware to prove it.
The 26-year-old White Rock-South Surrey Titans and South Surrey Rams alum, who plays for the Montreal Alouettes, was named last week as the CFL’s Eastern Conference nominee for the Most Outstanding Canadian award.
Whyte is in his first year with Montreal, after spending the previous few seasons with his hometown B.C. Lions, where he split time with veteran kicker Paul McCallum, whom the team elected to keep instead of Whyte.
Whyte was dealt to Montreal in May for a future first-round draft pick.
The move paid off for the Alouettes, as Whyte finished the regular season hitting 45-of-52 field goal attempts, and was tied for second in the league with 197 points.
At one point in the season, he also connected on a club-record 24 straight field goals.
Whyte goes up against Western nominee, Edmonton Eskimos running back Jerome Messam, for the top Canadian award. Like Whyte, Messam is also a former Lion.
Meanwhile, Whyte’s former mentor in B.C., McCallum – himself a former Surrey Ram – is nominated for the CFL’s Special Teams Player of the Year award.
The 41-year-old McCallum, a Surrey resident, set a CFL record this year, connecting on 29 consecutive field goals.