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September 21, 2016

Stamps QB in MOP race

Photo by Johany Jutras

Bo already has plenty of bling to fling.

There’s that Walter Payton Award from his college days as the NCAA Division 1’s most valuable player for 2011 (a pretty fair likeness mini-bust of Sweetness himself).

A best-ever record of 12-1 to raise the curtain as a CFL starter.

The No. 1 spot on TSN’s Top 50 for 2015 which may not any come with any hardware but carries its fair share of cachet.

And there’s no forgetting the 2014 Grey Cup MVP award and the accompanying custom-made ruby-and-diamond-choked ring from the title tilt in Vancouver, the one that brands you a champion, forever.

At 26, quite a burgeoning resume.

But there remains one bauble, one bright shiny, shimmery hunk of silverware that, for the moment, floats out there, unclaimed.

“I mean, I don’t lie in bed at night thinking about winning MOP,’’ laughs Bo Levi Mitchell, “but yeah, of course, sometime in my career, I’d love to.

“Because I do see myself as one of the best players in this league.

“You have to.

“It’s not a cocky thing. But if I didn’t believe in myself, think of myself in that light, why would anyone else? Why would my teammates trust me?

“It was cool to be a part of the discussion last year. But the votes go the way they go and I thought there were more deserving candidates, quite frankly.”

Photo by Johany Jutras

Photo by Johany Jutras

This year, as the CFL season heads into its final third, Bo Levi Mitchell is the obvious frontrunner for Most Outstanding Player.

Understanding there is a ways yet to travel, his stats, his influence and his team’s utter dominance thus far cry out for recognition.

“The favourite?’’ reasons Stamps’ slotback Marquay McDaniel. “Oh, yeah. I’d say so. For sure. Absolutely.

“The weird part is at the beginning of the season I didn’t think he was getting the credit he deserved. Nobody seemed to be talking about Bo. Maybe because Eric (Rogers) left.

“They were all talking about (Zach) Collaros coming back. And (Mike) Reilly, of course, because he’d won the Grey Cup.

“But nobody was talking about Bo.”

Are now. Can’t stop themselves, actually.

There’s a serenity – if that’s the right word in a profession where 300-pound carnivores hunt you down like a made-for-TV dinner – to Mitchell this season that shows a sign of maturity.

“Right now,’’ he agrees, “everything’s coming so much … easier. The games have come and gone like nuthin’.

“I don’t mean to diminish that but I feel as if I’m seeing the entire field now. I’m letting the guys go out and be athletes and getting the ball in their hands. I see almost every blitz.

“And hell, I’ve got a great O-line that’s been switching guys in and out and still holding up for me.

“But when that breaks down, I’m able to get out of the pocket and make a play.”

Photo by Johany Jutras

Photo by Johany Jutras

Personally, the laid-back Texan is threatening to rip asunder all his own personal bests.

That passing aggregate of 4,551 yards from a year ago? Pah! Chicken feed. He’s currently on pace for 5,904.

To put that particular figure in perspective, the three best throwing seasons in franchise history belong to the tiny conjurer, Doug Flutie: 6,092 (1993), 5,945 (1992) and 5,726 (1994).

Ten of 12 games at 300 yards or better so far (and one only six feet short, at 298). Only six picks. A 106.7 efficiency rating.

Concurrently, Mitchell’s projected 33 touchdowns tosses – he’s now at 22 – would be an increase of seven over a year ago.

Certainly he’s been blessed with a fine corps of collaborators over his three seasons as the starter – Rogers, McDaniel, Nik Lewis, Maurice Price, Joe West, etc. – but in the constantly changing variables that define professional football, No. 19 remains the constant in the equation.

This edition of Bo Levi Mitchell, you’re convinced, could throw to Napoleon Dynamite and still grade out well over 50 per cent.

A MOP of another generation, Dave Dickenson, is naturally a good place to go when breaking down the ongoing evolution of a quarterback.

“Bo has a great arm, likes to push the ball downfield, we all know that,’’ says the Stamps’ head coach. “But when there are quick throws to be had now, he’s taking them and making them. And he’s not turning the ball over.

“The one thing he’s doing better in my opinion is managing the pocket. Yeah, we haven’t given up a lot of sacks but a big part of that is Bo recognizing the blitz, managing the pocket and finding his check-downs.

“He’s done that in the past, too, but I think this is his best year at extending plays, moving the pocket, completing throws and getting us first downs.”

Should he go on to win, Mitchell would join a select group of four previous Stampeders QBs to claim MOP honours – Dickenson, Henry Burris, Doug Flutie (3x) and Peter Liske.

“Everybody want to look at numbers?’’ asks McDaniel, taking on the role of campaign manager. “Well, look at his numbers.

“He just comes to work every day. We just all do. Bo, everybody, we don’t just want to be good — we want to be great. We talk to the guys about our 17-3 season. That was a good, a very good year. But why not be 18-1-1 this year?

“I’ve seen a big evolution (in Mitchell), last season to now. Last year was the first year teams played a lot of zone against us. That was his first year seeing it.

“He looked at a lot of film over the summer and you can see it now, when he’s back there, so comfortable in his reads. He’s doing things faster now, and it shows.”

Photo by Johany Jutras

Photo by Johany Jutras

Among other MOP candidates, both Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker are both putting up ridiculous receiving numbers up north, as was Saskatchewan’s Naaman Roosevelt before he was injured.

And, yes, Mitchell does still trail tungsten-tough Mike Reilly in passing yards, but only marginally, and his Stamps are marching at 10-1-1, the Eskimos are 5-7 and Mitchell has already swept their two-game game-within-a-game series.

So right now, Bo Levi Mitchell has built up a wall of evidence that not even Perry Mason could beat in a court of law.

“It’s good to have it as a personal goal,’’ cautions Dickenson. “A lot goes into that, though. You’ve got to be on a good team, have an awful lot of good players around you. You’ve got to elevate your game to a different level.

“Most Outstanding Player … Most Valuable Player … however you want to interpret it: I think what we all want is a guy that wins.

“When you’re a quarterback and you’re winning, you’re doing something right.”

Meaning MOP is there, his, for the taking. Tuesday he was named one of the CFL’s players of the week.

Of the week? So far, he’s been the player of the year.

“There are still,’’ Bo Levi Mitchell responds, with a que sera sera shrug, “a lot of games left. Besides, if you asked (2015 MOP) Henry (Burris), he’d tell you that if you’re not holding the Grey Cup up at the end of the season … all the individual stuff pales in comparison.”

A small smile.

“But, as I said, I would like to win a MOP in my career. Sometime.”

Sometime, it says here, being no time like the present.

Photo by Johany Jutras

Photo by Johany Jutras