HAMILTON – Heading into the 110th Grey Cup against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the league’s leading rusher in Brady Oliveria, Montreal Alouettes running back William Stanback says he’s blocking out all the noise.
Oliveria put together a historic 2023 season that saw him join Jon Cornish as the second Canadian to surpass 1,500 yards. Oliveria's efforts earned him the honours of being nominated for the Most Outstanding Player, the recipient of the Most Outstanding Canadian, and nation-wide praise.
Watch and stream the 110th Grey Cup between the Blue Bombers and the Alouettes on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT with pre-game coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT LIVE on TSN1/3/5, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.
That attention hasn't gone unnoticed by Stanback. But being a two-time 1,000-yard rusher himself, he doesn't let it faze him.
"I hear it, people have talked to me about it," Stanback said Thursday during his media availability about the chatter around Oliveria.
"One of my closest cousins, we talk almost every day, he sends me articles and statements that's being said about him or about myself. And I just ignore it. I just try to play my game and stick to the game plan and everything I can to help my team win."
It's been a big year for running backs in the Canadian Football League with names like Oliveria, Stanback, Edmonton Elks’ Kevin Brown, and Toronto Argonauts' A.J. Ouellette all leaving their marks on the game.
While the Canadian game is seen, historically, as a pass-heavy one, Stanback said does see some trends towards the ground game.
"A lot of teams tend to run the ball a lot more in the CFL because of the types of running backs that are coming up in this league," Stanback said. "You're always going to need running backs to pound the rock and establish the run so you can get the ball to the receivers."
In 14 regular-season games this season, the 29-year-old Stanback rushed for 800 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He added another 95 yards against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Semifinal and another 15 against the Argos in the East Final, and credits the success he's had this season to his own defence.
"I swear I was just telling the defence today after practice, 'I love playing against you guys because in my eyes and in my heart, I feel you guys are the best team defence in this league.'" he said.
"So if I'm able to get four or five yards on a carry in practice against them, I know I can get seven or eight against anybody else. And those guys up front, our D-line, our linebackers, the back end, they make me better every day."
Being at the Grey Cup is special for Stanback and winning would mean even more to him given all he has been through.
After a breakout 2019 season that saw him rack up 1,048 yards, the Virginia Union University product received an invitation to attend training camp with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Soon after arriving, Stanback lost both his father and his mother.
Stanback had another close encounter with adversity when he suffered a broken ankle on his third carry in last season’s opener against the Calgary Stampeders. He returned for the Alouettes’ final four regular-season games and rushed for 142 yards in that time.
"It would mean the world to me," Stanback said on the significance of potentially hoisting the Grey Cup on Sunday. “To be honest with you, I don't know if there's any words or any terms that can really explain the feeling I will have."
"Losing my parents in 2020, coming back in '21, striving for a good year, falling short two years in a row, losing in the first round, last year losing in the second round, it felt like this was the year that we had to get over the hump."
"I'm going to speak it into existence right now," he continued. "When we win, I'm going to be ecstatic."
