Products You May Like
Oh, hello all you incredibly intelligent and dare I say stylish CFL fans. Have you been working out? You look fantastic. I’m totally not trying to butter you up; however, I’m going to need you to do me tiny favour.
When you find yourself voting for All-CFL selections can you make sure that Toronto Argonauts’ defensive linemen Folarin Orimolade is one of your selections? I know his numbers are down from last year but that is only because of an early season ankle injury that sidelined him for two months in the summer.
I understand what you’re thinking, this is a recency bias selection after his two-sack, one-interception performance in Toronto’s playoff-clinching 14-11 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. But what we saw from the five-year veteran last week is not a one-week blip. Orimolade has been disrupting carefully considered offensive game plans all year.
RELATED
» CFL All-Star rebranded as All-CFL
» Make It Count: All-CFL Fan Vote now open
» Landry: My 2024 All-CFL selections
» Who Deserves The Vote? Two (plus) All-CFL QB picks
» Who Deserves The Vote? 5 All-CFL running back picks
» Who Deserves The Vote? 3 All-CFL defensive picks
» Who Deserves The Vote? 5 All-CFL receiver picks
» Time To Vote: Players make their case for All-CFL
» The Weekly Say: One can’t-miss All-CFL selection
» Visit CFL Game Zone to make your All-CFL votes
Come back with me to the start of the season, where Toronto’s defence was taking on the league’s most formidable passing offence in Vernon Adams Jr. and the BC Lions. The group was a stat-stuffing threat, loaded with a healthy trio of All-CFL talent in Justin McInnis, Alexander Hollins ad Jevon Cottoy.
The Lions put up 363 yards of offence, but the Argos forced five turnovers and took down the Lions’ passer six times. The most important of those six sacks came courtesy of Orimolade in the critical final moments. With Toronto holding on to a 29-27 lead, Folarin can be found not on the edge but right in the middle of the defensive line, about two yards off the line of scrimmage. At the snap of the ball, he scrapes off a couple Lions’ linemen, chasing down Adams to force an intentional grounding penalty. This is your classic “motor never quits” play and suddenly it’s third-and-24. The Lions would not convert and moments later a Cameron Dukes goal line plunge pushed Toronto’s lead to 35-27. Game over.
Folarin Orimolade tracks down Maier and strips the ball! 👀#CFLGameDay: LIVE on TSN
📲: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/DDqR0Duoui— CFL (@CFL) August 10, 2024
Flash forward to this past Friday in Winnipeg. Head coach Ryan Dinwiddie’s squad is again holding on for dear life, up 13-11 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Winnipeg is facing a second-and-10 with under 90 seconds to play. Orimolade again comes up huge getting past Chris Kolankowski on his way to sacking Zach Collaros. On the next play, a Collaros scramble comes just inches short of converting on third-and-long.
Toronto doesn’t win that game without that seven-yard sack by their star defensive end. Orimolade started the game by overpowering right tackle Eric Lofton on a first quarter sack and ended the game with an interception off of a Collaros Hail Mary pass. Yes, the Argo defender was lucky on that interception as he was in the right place as the ball deflected right into his arms, but it also speaks to his hustle as he raced downfield on the game’s final play.
Last year Orimolade received his first All-CFL honour, collecting 10 sacks as one of the lynchpins to the league’s best defence. He kicked off 2024 in style and was one of the stars of a Toronto defence that held Winnipeg to its second-lowest scoring output on the year.
When healthy there are not many defensive linemen as disruptive as Orimolade, which is why he belongs on your All-CFL ballot.