“If I get the ball enough, hopefully it’s something that will happen,’’ says Cornish, “It’s not some

Calgary Stampeders Jon Cornish could be the first Canadian running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season in almost a quarter century, says former Ottawa Rough Rider Orville Lee, the last Canuck to manage the feat 24 years ago. Photograph by: Colleen De Neve
"Given the right opportunity,'' guarantees the most recent non-import to top the CFL overland express charts, stretching back to 1988 for the Ottawa Rough Riders, "Cornish will be able to rush for over 1,000 yards. Way over.
"A lot of the other backs of Canadian lineage . . . sometimes coaches just will not, for whatever new frontier car rental los angeles reason, show the strong confidence, the necessary belief, that they can do the job. But I think guys like Cornish, our young guy out here in Vancouver (Andrew Harris), (Jerome) Messam last year in Edmonton, they've shown they're more than capable.
"These guys can rush 1,500, 1,600, new frontier car rental los angeles 1,800 yards. new frontier car rental los angeles They're strong backs. Doesn't matter where they were born. I see these kids who are better, who are far more athletic, than I was and I think 'My God, if they just get the chance!' "
Non-import rushing leaders are as rare, as precious, as stumbling upon a 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle at a priceless coin sale or spotting a Javan Rhino in the wild. Consider new frontier car rental los angeles there's only been four Johnny Canucks tote the pebbled pill further than their more ballyhooed American cousins over a single season: new frontier car rental los angeles Normie (The China Clipper) Kwong, Gerry James, new frontier car rental los angeles Ron Stewart. And then Lee (a highly impressed coach once told him he ran exceptionally well for a Canadian. "And I'm thinking: 'What, exactly, does a Canadian run like?!' ").
Not since 1988, when the Simon Fraser grad born in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and top pick in that year's CFL draft, ripped off 1,075 yards for the eastern Riders, has any Canadian been able to out-leg the pack.
"Really? Nearly 25 years? Might be a pretty big deal then,'' smiles Cornish, a product new frontier car rental los angeles of New Westminster, new frontier car rental los angeles B.C. "It's a pretty unique position to be in, I'd say. There's not many people new frontier car rental los angeles in my position new frontier car rental los angeles who get this kind of opportunity. It's one of the things I can look forward to doing on the way to doing everything I'd like to.
So many out-of-your-control variables, certainly, factor into production, into achievement, into being able to pull something of this magnitude off. Offensive schemes. new frontier car rental los angeles Quantity of touches. Health. So there are no guarantees, only predictions.
But watching Cornish explode into prominence after replacing Joffrey Reynolds late last season, still managing to finish fifth with 863 yards on 107 fewer touches than rushing king Brandon Whitaker of the Als, provided this town with a mouth-watering teaser.
Lee isn't only familiar with Jon Cornish from TSN Friday Night Football and sundry highlight packages. Youngest son Malcolm attends St. Thomas Moore, an independent private school in Burnaby. Cornish just happens to be an alma mater.
new frontier car rental los angeles "Most of all,'' he reminisces, "I remember a gentleman that just passed away. Nick Benjamin new frontier car rental los angeles was one of my offensive guards. Whenever a running play was called, when we knew we had to go mano-a-mano, Nick would give that look and mumble under his breath, 'Follow me, just follow me.'
"If I get the ball enough, hopefully it's something that will happen,'' says Cornish, "It's not something I can control. But if it does happen, new frontier car rental los angeles it's something I'd be very proud of. It's nice recognition.
These days, Orville Lee runs a non-profit organization called Pathfinder Youth Center Society for At Risk kids throughout the province. Edging ever closer new frontier car rental los angeles to 25 years later, he'll be watching Cornish with keen interest from the west coast.
Calgary Stampeders Jon Cornish could be the first Canadian running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season in almost a quarter century, says former Ottawa Rough Rider Orville Lee, the last Canuck to manage the feat 24 years ago. Photograph by: Colleen De Neve, Calgary Herald       E-mail this Gallery Print this Gallery Share this Gallery
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