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“He obviously had this reputation as being a guy who wasn’t your traditional football player. And then when I coached him, he had a super work ethic — he was driven. He had something in him that he wanted to be the best. He wanted to prove people wrong, as well. He kind of had a little edge because of people’s (mentality) that a Canadian running back couldn’t do it. All those things he used as extra motivation.”

His moment with Cornish

“Probably that screen against Edmonton in the west final here (in 2014) when he got seven guys off of him and goes 77 yards for a touchdown. To me, that was as good a play as I’ve ever seen Jon run. It should be in his top-three memories, because he got rid of about seven guys.”

OL SHANE BERGMAN

His words on Cornish

“Jon was one of the best football players I’ve ever played with. He was relentless. He was good in the huddle. And he was a good person, too. I liked talking to the guy. I played video games with him — he liked to play video games. He’s just an all-around good guy, and I’m really happy for him that he’s going into the hall of fame this early.”

His moment with Cornish

“When we won the 2014 Grey Cup, it was my first Grey Cup, and playing with him was super-cool. It was just really nice to hear from him that he used to claim that if he wanted to get yards, you just follow No. 60. That was really nice to hear from him, for sure. He respected me, for sure.”

DB BRANDON SMITH

His words on Cornish

“Corn-dog came to work every game. Off the field, he was one of the nicest guys around, but you didn’t expect him to transform when he’d get on the field. As far as it was statistically or game-wise, Corn came to play.”