The Calgary Stampeders are pleased to announce their finalists for the 2012 Canadian Football League Player Awards. This year’s strong field of award candidates features running back Jon Cornish, defensive lineman Charleston Hughes, offensive lineman Dimitri Tsoumpas, kicker Rene Paredes and linebacker Chris Randle.

Calgary’s nominees were determined by voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) as well as one vote from the Stampeders coaching staff.

Here is a closer look at the Stampeders’ nominees:

Jon Cornish (Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian): The 27-year-old New Westminster, B.C., native is a double nominee for the Stampeders as he was nominated for both Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian honours. Cornish heads into the final week of the regular season with a 145-yard lead for the CFL rushing crown as he bids to be the first Canadian to win that title since 1988. Cornish is also 50 yards away from breaking Normie Kwong’s 56-year-old record for most rushing yards by a Canadian. He has 1,388 rushing yards for the season and shares the league lead with 11 touchdowns on the ground. Cornish also has 37 receptions for 332 yards and two scores. He has won eight CFL player-of-the-week awards this season including seven citations as the top Canadian player.

Charleston Hughes (Most Outstanding Defensive Player): Hughes heads into the final week of the regular season with a career-high 11 sacks, which leaves him just one behind the league leader. It’s the first time a Stamps player has reached double digits in sacks since 2003. He has keyed the Stamps’ improving pass rush in the second half of the season as nine of his 11 sacks have come in the past 10 games. Hughes shares the CFL lead with five forced fumbles and is second on the Stampeders with seven tackles for loss. The five-year veteran has 52 defensive tackles, six special-teams tackles, three pass knockdowns and one interception. Hughes was named the CFL’s defensive player of the week for Week 9.

Dimitri Tsoumpas (Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman): Tsoumpas, a right guard, is in his fifth season as a starter with the Stampeders and is the longest-serving member of Calgary’s offensive line. The three-time West Division all-star and two-time CFL all-star has been an integral part of the front-line unit that has paved the way for Jon Cornish’s bid for the league rushing title. While injuries have taken their toll on Calgary’s other offensive linemen, Tsoumpas is the only member of the unit to start every game this season and he has missed just two games due to injury over the course of his five seasons with the club. Tsoumpas and his linemates have helped the Stamps offence lead the CFL in points, rushing touchdowns and pass-completion percentage while ranking second in rushing yards as well as net offence and third in fewest sacks allowed.

Rene Paredes (Most Outstanding Special Teams Player): The second-year kicker from Pierrefonds, Que., has converted on 92.5 per cent of his field goals in 2012, a figure which represents the second-best single-season success rate in CFL history. Paredes has been good on 37 of his 40 field-goal tries including 22 of 23 since the end of August and 15 in a row since Sept. 23. He’s converted nine of 11 attempts from 40 yards or more. Paredes is a perfect 46-for-46 on extra points and is second in the league with 158 points scored. He’s third in the CFL with an average of 63.7 yards on kickoffs.

Chris Randle (Most Outstanding Rookie): The Utah State product has played in 14 games during his first CFL campaign including 12 starts at strong-side linebacker. His versatility has also allowed the Stampeders to use him at defensive back. Randle leads all Stampeders rookies with 34 defensive tackles and he has also been a valuable contributor on special teams with seven tackles. He has two pass knockdowns, one interception and one tackle for loss.

The West and East Division winners for the 2012 CFL Player Awards will be announced on Wednesday, Nov. 7. The league-wide winners will be announced during Grey Cup week on Thursday, Nov. 22 in Toronto.