| Jon Cornish Trophy | |
| Givenfor: | The most outstanding Canadian student athlete in NCAA football |
| Location: | Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Hamilton, Ontario) |
| First: | Nathan Rourke, QB, 2017 |
| Mostrecent: | Elic Ayomanor, WR, 2023 |
The Jon Cornish Trophy is an award given annually to the top Canadian player in NCAA football. The award is named after Canadian Football Hall of Famer (CFHOF) Jon Cornish and has been presented since 2017, with the trophy debuting two years later on display at the CFHOF.
It is awarded by a panel consisting of Canadian journalists, player personnel evaluators from the Canadian Football League, former NCAA players with a connection to Canada, and panelists from Gridiron Nation. Nathan Rourke and John Metchie III are the only two to have ever won it more than once.
The trophy was first awarded at the conclusion of the 2017 NCAA football season to honor the top Canadian player in American college football, where it was presented to Ohio Bobcats quarterback Nathan Rourke from Oakville, Ontario.[1] The award is named after Jon Cornish, a former running back at the University of Kansas who would later play for the as a member of the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, where he would win three Most Outstanding Canadian awards as well as the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award and Lou Marsh Trophy (now the Northern Star Award) in 2013 before being inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2019.[2]
Rourke would win the award again the following season before Oklahoma State running back and Sherwood Park native Chuba Hubbard was named the winner for the 2019–20 season.[3] [4] Alabama wide receiver and Brampton local John Metchie III won the award for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons.[5] [6] Illinois running back and London, Ontario, native Chase Brown won the award in 2022 after leading all Power Five teams in rushing. The most recent recipient is Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor, a Medicine Hat, Alberta native who amassed over 1,000 yards receiving, including a school-record 294 yards against Colorado.[7]
The patrons of the trophy are the Northern 8 group led by businessman L. David Dube and Football Canada president Jim Mullin. It is awarded by a panel consisting of Canadian journalists, Canadian Football League player personnel evaluators, former NCAA players with a connection to Canada, and panelists from Gridiron Nation.[8]
The primary trophy, featuring an image of Cornish superimposed on a background that incorporates a maple leaf and a five-pointed star, is kept on permanent display at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. The recipient is presented with a separate personalized trophy featuring an image from the player's trophy-winning season. This trophy originally featured the logo of Football Canada, the country's governing body for amateur Canadian football, but that logo has been replaced by a dedicated Cornish Trophy logo.[9]
| Season | Winner | Position | School | Hometown | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Nathan Rourke | Quarterback | Ohio | Oakville, Ontario | |
| 2018 | |||||
| 2019 | Chuba Hubbard | Running back | Oklahoma State | Sherwood Park, Alberta | |
| 2020 | John Metchie III | Wide receiver | Alabama | Brampton, Ontario | |
| 2021 | |||||
| 2022 | Chase Brown | Running back | Illinois | London, Ontario | |
| 2023 | Elic Ayomanor | Wide receiver | Stanford | Medicine Hat, Alberta |