CFL.ca will profile a number of key Canadian university prospects leading up to the CFL Evaluation Camp from March 12-14 in Toronto. Today we feature Everton Black a defensive lineman from The University of Manitoba.
Brian Snelgrove
CFL.ca
Call it a friendly sibling rivalry.
As brothers growing up in Toronto, Everton and Tristan Black often competed against each other in a variety of different sports.
“We used to have a trophy mantle at home. Pretty soon his side started to get a few more accolades than mine.” -Tristan Black
“We were always very competitive,” says Everton, a 6’2” 240 lbs. defensive lineman from The University of Manitoba Bisons, who will attend this year’s CFL E-Camp. “How would I rate us? I would say I was better at baseball, he was better at hockey and we tied in soccer and football.”
“I would agree on the baseball,” says Tristan with a chuckle. “We played on the same hockey team one year and were pretty close. I was a goalie in soccer and would give him the edge there. He was also an outstanding boxer. He is wrong about the football.”
Tristan, who attended last year’s E-Camp, was a second round pick of the Calgary Stampeders in the 2009 Entry Draft. The 25-year-old linebacker joined the CFL club after four seasons at Wayne State University in Detroit. He blocked a punt in his first-ever professional game in the team’s season-opener against Montreal and appeared in five games before being sidelined with an injury.
Everton doesn’t walk in the shadow of his older brother, but hopes to follow in his footsteps. He looks at his brother’s success as motivation to get better. “We talk almost every day,” he says. “I have learned a lot from him and look up to him. He’s always been one step ahead of me so I look to him for advice especially for ways to improve my skills on the football field. For sure seeing my brother play at the CFL level makes me optimistic that I can make it there as well. If I put in the work that he has.”
The 24-year-old Everton starred in basketball at Oakridge Collegiate in Toronto and football at Central Tech. The fourth year Bachelor of Arts student hopes to attend Graduate School with a focus on Psychology.
After high school Everton was considering a number of different universities and his brother recommended he check out Manitoba. “Tristan had been recruited by them and he was really impressed with the school and with head coach Brian Dobbie,” says Everton. “I got invited out and really liked it.”
The Toronto native played linebacker his first year and a half at Manitoba but when the “need for a rush end arose, I moved in there,” he says. “It was a pretty easy transition. I always loved to pass rush when I was a linebacker. I was excited to play that position.”
“He is a great kid, intelligent,” says Dobbie. “He sent film as a quarterback and safety – we could see his athleticism and knew there was some potential there. He came here with a lot of faith in himself. We couldn’t make him any promises but we said we would give him an opportunity. He had an ‘I think I can show them attitude.’”
Everton showed them. He was a Canada West all-star last year and in addition to attending E-Camp will play in the upcoming East-West Bowl in London this May. He was a member of the Bison’s Vanier Cup winning squad in 2007. “That was really cool,” he says. “There are not many first-year players that get that kind of experience.”
“Everton is very quiet and respectful on and off the field,” says Dobbie. “There is no excessive celebration when he makes a play. He is very methodical and business-like in his approach. He feels no need to show the world that he has something.”
As for E-Camp, Tristan has some good advice for his brother. “It’s great,” he says. “It was a lot of fun. It feels like you are doing something important. It is pretty intense and a lot of guys aren’t ready for that. You have to be prepared for the intensity of it.”
“Yeah my brother said it is really intense,” says Everton. “There are lots of cameras and stuff; you have to block that out and stay focused. I’m excited to be returning to my hometown and getting the opportunity to play in my hometown. I really hope to open some eyes and get a chance to get my name out there and get drafted by a team.”
“He is very diversified, heck he started out as a quarterback which probably helps him see the offensive side of the field,” says Dobbie. “He sees the field differently and from a different perspective. He is very easily motivated and is a goal-setter. He continually wants to get better. He should show very well at camp.”
