Photo credit: Brian Johnson, bclions.com
Kamloops (written by Noah Stewart with files from Matt Baker, bclions.com)- As the Lions offseason ended with training camp beginning over the past weekend, the club has brought back many familiar faces to both sides of the ball, and the coaching staff as well, with one notable former All-Star linebacker in Micah Awe returning for his fourth go-around with the team in pursuit of the 112th Grey Cup. He’s back where it all started and ready for unfinished business.
The former Texas Tech defensive captain had never heard of the CFL before he was quickly welcomed by the Lions for his first stint with the club back in 2017. Eight years later, he’s returned to the club on a two-year deal.
Awe entered free agency with experience on six different CFL teams across his eight-year career. But there was no doubt in Micah’s mind that BC was the one he could call home out of all the cities and provinces he’s played in. Living in Texas for most of his life, the scenery compared to Vancouver’s has a drastic difference, and he says it played a partial role in his return to BC.
“It’s always been home, and I truly mean that. I’ll never forget the first time flying into BC as a rookie. I’ve never seen legit mountains before,” he told bclions.com via ZOOM from Kamloops.
“Like it’s the summer, there’s no way there’s ice on top of that. That’s how I guess how big-eyed I was coming into BC I honestly thought everything was so beautiful. It’s always been home, and I’m always trying to come back, and it worked out this time.”
The Texas-raised linebacker made his trip down to Kamloops for training camp recently, and even though he is entering his ninth season, the excitement of training camp will always be there. He reminisces on how he felt during his first training camp and how he was able to learn underneath veteran linebackers like Solomon Elimimian, while also understanding that talent will get you a long way, but your character will get you further.
“I can remember my first training camp like it was yesterday in Kamloops – being next to Solly and being his backup my rookie year, and being able to watch a guy like him practice and the way he holds himself. I took a lot of that,” Awe mentioned.
Photo credit: Brian Johnson, BC Lions.
“The talent is obviously what gets you there, but what keeps you around is the character. Honestly, what keeps you around is keep getting better, if you don’t – there’s only nine teams, so if you’re not getting better, they’ll move on. So, my whole goal of this year is to start where I was last year and get even better, and by the end of this year, be better than I was at the beginning of training camp.”
During his time with the Lions, Awe accumulated 85 defensive tackles and 19 special teams tackles in his rookie and sophomore seasons and made a brief appearance with the club in 2022.
For those who aren’t familiar with Awe and his playing style, he has quick speed that leads to massive hits, with his reaction time being merely perfect. Despite bouncing around from team to team, Awe carries the same work ethic and physicality to any defence he joins.
When Awe was asked about how he describes that style, he says it’s all about speed, and how quickly he can get from point A to point B, as he says speed is vital to being an elite, all-around linebacker.
“I’m not the biggest guy, but I don’t have to be. There are a lot of weapons I can talk about that aren’t very big; they’re small, but the reason why they’re dangerous is because of speed. The name of the game of football is get to the ball, especially as a linebacker,” he explained.
“At the end of the day, I’m going to be fast, I’m going to be physical. That’s what I hope I kind of bring as a persona to this team, is that one thing you can guarantee from me, for Micah Awe, is that he’s going to play fast and physical and he won’t let up,” stated the hard-hitting linebacker.
He goes on to explain why he believes the linebacker position and the interior defence are so important in winning not just games, but championships.
“We all say defence wins championships, but I think even more so, interior defence wins championships… I take pride in that. Whether or not I get all the accolades I deserve, I don’t care about that. I just care about whether I’m helping my team be more physical and getting the job done,” he said.
Micah Awe in action during his first Lions season of 2017.
Micah has been on his fair share of teams in the CFL, playing for six out of the nine teams. Some people may think that could be a bad thing and give it the stereotype of “journeyman”, but you are doing something right and are a good player if teams are continuing to sign you.
There were times for Micah during his journey that wavered his confidence, especially after having to jump ship to different teams, after being released. He says he questioned the times he was released after having a relatively productive season.
“I won’t lie, I’ll have a good season statistically and our team will be bad – but at the end of the day, I’m like man, I made plays out there you know, why am I being the one kind of let go and having to go find a new home? You start thinking, like I know I’m good, but why does this keep happening?”
There are so many things that go through your mind, but at the end of the day, it’s about getting better. Veterans get to a point where I’m at, and they think they’re goo,d you know, like I don’t have to get any better. And to me, I still feel like I have to prove people wrong.”
When asked about his desires and hopes to remain in BC for the rest of his playing career, donning the coveted black and orange colours, he said he 1000% wants to stay put right here and perform in front of the fans at BC Place.
“I’m just going to speak it into existence, I’ll tell you how I’ll stay here for the rest of my career, if you win games. If you want to be here for the foreseeable future, we all just have to win. If we all win, they’ll keep the same crew around. If you don’t win (then) you don’t, it’s kind of like the Hunger Games,” said Awe.
Awe has lofty expectations for year eight
In 2023, Awe was with Calgary and had easily the best year of his career on paper, as he set a single-season franchise record for defensive tackles with 134, alongside a career best three interceptions. During that season, he was awarded a Western Division and CFL All-Star selection for the first time in his career after six long and hard-working years.
Even though that’s already an accomplishment that takes a lot of time, dedication, and persistence, he has higher goals set for himself this year, as he learned back in high school from his linebackers coach during his senior year to always aim high.
“He asked me what my goals are for the year, and I gave the politically correct answer like, hey yeah, I want to be All-District (All-Star). And he looked at me and said, ‘No, you need to be the MVP of this district, not defensive MVP, flat period MVP. I chuckled and he’s like ‘Don’t chuckle, that’s your potential, you need to be reaching that,’” Awe remembered.
The questions and comments said by his high school linebackers coach will be engraved into his head as he enters the 2025 Lions season, putting himself on a broader mission. He says he’s dedicated to achieving this year’s Most Outstanding Player award.
“I’m looking for an MOP here. I know the last person to do that (on defence) was the person I played with my rookie year, which is Solomon. So, my goal is to get an MOP. I don’t care if I must be a quarterback, I must be that impressive and make that much of an impact on the team,” said Awe.
Even though Awe is set to embark on his ninth season in the CFL, he still feels like he has something to prove. After being released and let go by multiple teams throughout his journey, it left an everlasting chip on his shoulder that he must prove the doubters wrong. Awe says he’s not focused on the past, but ready to prove the naysayers wrong this season.
“I still feel like I need to prove people wrong, even though I’m going into my ninth year, I have over 500 tackles, I don’t feel like I’m that. I feel like a rookie right now, still that I have something to prove, I don’t care about the past. Right now, what I care about is getting the MOP, and I feel like, again, I have not mastered the art of linebacker,” stated Awe.
Photo credit: Brian Johnson, bclions.com.
Reunited with a veteran coach
Despite having played under a plethora of different coaches and defensive coordinators, Awe was always able to find his footing no matter where he went, playing a speedy yet explosive game. He had to adapt to a changing defensive scheme early in his career, as in his four years at Texas Tech, he played under five separate defensive coordinators.
But this year, he won’t have to worry about a new defensive coordinator, as he’s been reunited in Kamloops with Mike Benevides, as he played under his defence back in 2021 with Ottawa. During that campaign, Awe had gone on for what was at the time a career high in defensive tackles with 74 and sacks with three.
Since Awe has had to adapt to plenty of changes in defensive coordinators, he’s played in different schemes and has been able to play all three levels on the field. He says it’s helped him to become a well-rounded linebacker who can play wherever he’s told to.
“With Coach Benevides and his defence, he’s doing a lot of things. If he wants to put me on the line of scrimmage, go do it. If I need to be off the line scrimmage, go do it. And if I need to play safety, I can do that too. I can play all three levels because I’ve proven it in the CFL,” he said.
“I think Coach Benevides and just everyone on the defensive side is going to allow me to be myself, which I think hasn’t shown itself in a long time. I think there’s room for improvement, and honestly, I haven’t even hit my full potential. So, I’m hoping I can get closer to that this year,” he expressed.
Awe has reunited with several Lions teammates at training camp that he shared the field with just a couple of years ago, as well as linebacker and former Lion Adam Konar, who came alongside Awe from Calgary in this year’s free agency. He’ll also be joined by former Ottawa teammate Adam Auclair, who Micah jokingly gave the nickname “mon fils” during Auclair’s rookie season, which means – my son in French, and Micah laughingly said he’s excited to play with his son again
Coming into the 2025 campaign, every game will be a revenge game for Awe. If you let him go in the past, you will regret and if you didn’t sign him either, you will regret it. He’s ready to make a difference on a stacked Lions defence, as he is eager for their first game back, which just so happens to be his former team in the Stampeders in preseason on May 19th.
“I played against most coaches and players, and at the end of the day, those other 5 teams that let me go, the fact they let me go, I’m going to make sure they regret that decision…I know we have that first game against Calgary, I hope they throw everything in the kitchen sink at me,” said Awe.
Awe isn’t just back with the Lions for another season, but he’s back with a point to prove and a Grey Cup on his mind.