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Born in Kinshasa, Zaire, before being raised in both Montreal and Mississauga, Ont., Hénoc Muamba didn’t begin playing football until Grade 10.

And when he started, he wasn’t a middle linebacker. He was a running back who hated the game and ran from defenders out of fear more than an attempt to reach the end zone.

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“I didn’t like the contact aspect of it. I was running away from people that were trying to tackle me,” Muamba said. “That’s how I had success. I really had a fear. I was running out of fear and trying not to get hit.”

Muamba, now the Alouettes’ starting middle linebacker, was named the Canadian Football League’s top Canadian Thursday night at Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome, as the league recognized its outstanding individual performances this season.

Originally selected first overall by Winnipeg in 2011, Muamba was the East Division finalist for the second time in his career — the other nomination coming in 2013. This time, he was selected over Saskatchewan linebacker Cameron Judge, who was born in Montreal but raised in California.