Former Oakwood CI student Everton Black hopes to be an Argo for 2010 CFL season
Everton Black is hoping to add a Grey Cup ring to his Vanier Cup title as he awaits the CFL draft May 2.
The former Vaughan Road and St. Clair Avenue area resident was invited to the CFL’s Evaluation Camp March 12-14 by the Toronto Argonauts to test his mettle.
It’s an opportunity the defensive end is ready to tackle.
“All round it was the experience of a lifetime,” he said. “I was really tense for that first day and then I got really comfortable afterwards.
“Being able to see all the coaches and talk to them and just compete with the some of the best in the nation, it was just a really good experience for me.”
Currently finishing his major in psychology at the University of Manitoba, looks to use his knowledge to get inside opposing quarterbacks’ heads.
All that strategizing started back in grade 11 when he transferred from Oakwood CI to Central Tech, giving up the basketball court for 110 yards of turf.
“It was that same summer that I went to the Wildcats for one season and the following year I was University of Manitoba,” he said.
The rest is history, including a 28-14 Vanier Cup win with the Bisons over Saint Mary’s Huskies in 2007.
“It’s been great,” he said. “I got the chance to play with a lot of good players, guys before me. It was an all-round good experience with all my coaches and teammates.”
Part of a burgeoning football family, Black tapped his older brother Tristan’s brain for guidance. The Calgary Stampeders linebacker offered his younger sib a much need confidence boost.
“He gave me a lot of good advice, just to handle all the new surroundings and to let me know to focus on what I’m doing, perform my best,” Everton said.
Though he’s on the western briny, it’ll be blue skies to come back east aboard Team Argo.
“It’ll be a good opportunity to play in my hometown, being an Argos fan in my childhood,” he said. “To play for the Argos would not only be a good accomplishment but it’d be an honour.”