Six Tiger-cats Named 2017 East Division All-stars

Wide receiver/kick returner Banks becomes four-time Divisional All-Star
The Canadian Football League unveiled Wednesday the 2017 East and West Division All-Stars, which includes Tiger-Cats wide receivers Brandon Banks and Luke Tasker, offensive lineman Ryan Bomben, linebacker Larry Dean, defensive back Richard Leonard, and placekicker/punter Sergio Castillo.
Banks, who has now been named a divisional all-star in four consecutive seasons (2014-17), earned the nod for the first time as a wide receiver after three-straight selections for his role on special teams as a kick returner. Tasker (2014-15, 2017) and Bomben (2015-17) each took home their third divisional all-star honours, while Dean, Leonard and Castillo, who was voted in as a placekicker, were all selected for the first time in their respective careers.
Banks, 29, played in all 18 of Hamilton’s games this season, posting career highs in receptions (67), receiving yards (1,011), yards per reception (15.1), receiving touchdowns (8) and rushing touchdowns (2). He also added 38 punt returns for 385 yards and one touchdown, and 34 kickoff returns for 624 yards. The 5-7, 150-pound native of Garner, North Carolina, became the eighth player in CFL history to record five consecutive 100-yard receiving games from September 30 versus Toronto to October 27 at Ottawa. Despite only starting at wide receiver in the final 10 games of 2017, Banks finished the season tied for third in the CFL in receiving touchdowns, tied for seventh in receptions of 20+ yards (12) and was 13^th in total receiving yards.
Tasker, 26, registered career highs in games played (18), receptions (104), receiving yards (1,167) and receiving touchdowns (7) in 2017. He set a Tiger-Cats’ franchise record for receptions in a single season with 104 (Fantuz – 101 in 2016), and ranked second in the CFL in receiving targets (154), tied for second in receptions, was sixth in receiving yards and tied for sixth in receiving touchdowns.
Bomben, 30, started all 18 games at right guard for the Tiger-Cats this season. The durable offensive lineman has played in all 18 regular season games six times in his seven-year CFL career. In addition to three consecutive East Division All-Star honours, the 6-5, 295-pound native of Burlington, Ontario, has been named the Tiger-Cats Most Outstanding Lineman in back-to-back seasons.
Dean, 29, accumulated 96 defensive tackles, three special teams tackles, three quarterback sacks, eight quarterback pressures, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, five pass knock downs and one tackle for loss in 18 games this season. The 6-0, 226-pound native of Tifton, Georgia, finished tied for second in the CFL in forced fumbles, was fourth in defensive tackles, and was named the Tiger-Cats 2017 Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player. At the beginning of the season, he was also voted as the team’s 2017 defensive team captain in just his second year in the CFL.
Leonard, 26, started 18 games at both cornerback and halfback for the Tiger-Cats in his rookie CFL season in 2017. He tied for the CFL lead in pass knock downs (13) and fumble recoveries (3), was second in interceptions (7) and 11^th overall in defensive tackles (72). The 5-8, 173-pound native of Miami, Florida, also collected one special teams tackle, one forced fumble, one tackle for loss and returned one of his fumble recoveries 84 yards for a touchdown after a blocked kick in Week 1 against Toronto. For his efforts, Leonard was named the Tiger-Cats 2017 Most Outstanding Rookie.
Castillo, 27, appeared in 14 games with the Tiger-Cats this season, converting 29 of his 34 field goal attempts (85.3%) and averaging 44.9 yards per punt on 94 attempts. He was also a perfect 5-for-5 on field goal attempts of 50-plus yards, 20-of-21 on one-point convert attempts, and ranked fourth overall in the CFL in both field goal percentage and average yards per punt. The 5-9, 194-pound native of La Joya, Texas, suffered a season-ending knee injury on October 6 at Winnipeg.
The Division All-Stars were selected by members of the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) and CFL head coaches.
During the offseason, the Football Operations Committee, comprised of team General Managers, approved alterations to the All-Star positions. In past years there were two running backs, four receivers and three linebackers voted in as All-Stars. That has been changed this year to one running back, five receivers, two linebackers and a cover linebacker.
The East Division All-Stars were selected by the voting members of the FRC from the East Division markets, the National Chapter and the East Division head coaches. The West Division All-Stars were selected by the voting members of the FRC from the West Division markets, the National Chapter and the West Division head coaches.
Ballots for the final round of CFL All-Stars will go out on Thursday and the CFL All-Stars will be announced in early December.