Rich Lam/Getty Images Jevon Cottoy of the BC Lions is tackled by Richard Leonard #4 and Darnell Sankey #53 of the Calgary Stampeders after catching a pass at BC Place on October 16, 2021.
Earlier this week the Pittsburgh Steelers worked out a pair CFL players, including wide receiver Jevon Cottoy, who is 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds and has two seasons worth of experience with the BC Lions.
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Jevon Cottoy Hails From the Caribbean
Cottoy, 25, is a native of the island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and has taken a circuitous path to the doorstep of NFL teams.
He wasn’t introduced to football until after he moved to Calgary at the age of nine, but played in high school and proceeded to win rookie of the year in the Canadian Junior Football League at age 18, playing for the Calgary Colts.
But after earning a scholarship to the University of Calgary he tore his ACL and MCL, putting his football career in doubt, much like knee injuries nearly derailed the football career of future Steelers All-Pro T.J. Watt at around the same age.
And just like Watt, he considered giving up football to become a firefighter, going so far as to enroll at a community college in Calgary to begin training for the profession.
But after successful rehab he ultimately found his way into the CFL, and in 2021 he played in 14 games for the Lions, catching 39 passes for 519 yards and three touchdowns. Even before that he had the attention of NFL scouts, having worked out for the Texans, Raiders and Saints, among others. That’s what happens when you show promise as a pass catcher and your size comparison is former Steelers first-round pick Plaxico Burress.
Anyway, it seems only a matter of time before Cottoy gets a chance with an NFL team; in fact, he worked out for the New York Jets two days before his visit to Pittsburgh.
If Cottoy does make it into the NFL in 2022, he will make one Lions employee look prescient. “Enjoy (Jevon) while you can,” said the staffer in question back in 2019, this according to Ed Willes of The Province. “He’s going to be in the NFL in three years.”
Steelers Work out the Son of a Former MLB All-Star
Meanwhile, per Field Yates of ESPN, the Steelers also worked out another CFL veteran, one with a more conventional football background, if not a conventional name. That would be former Arkansas State defensive back Monshadrik ‘Money’ Hunter, who played for the Edmonton Eskimos (now the Edmonton Elks) in 2018-19 and the Montreal Alouettes in 2021.
In 44 career CFL games, Hunter has recorded 129 tackles, along with six sacks and two interceptions. Prior to that he played four years for the Arkansas State Red Wolves (2013-16), where he had 222 total tackles and six interceptions, four of which he returned for touchdowns.
Monshadrick is the son of former major league baseball outfield Torii Hunter, a former first-round pick of the Minnesota Twins who had a 19-year career with the Twins, Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers and was a five-time All-Star.
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Steelers Work out CFL WR Who Has Something in Common With T.J. Watt