Huskers In The CFL: One Champion, One Loser As Toronto Beats Calgary In The Grey Cup

Ciante Evans is now 0-for-2 in Grey Cup games, and it sounds as though if he gets what he wants, he may just stay that way.

The former Husker was on the losing end of the CFL’s championship game for the second straight year on Sunday, as his Calgary Stampeders choked away a late lead and lost to the Toronto Argonauts 27-24 in Ottawa.

Evans was also a member of the Stamps team that lost to Ottawa in 2016’s Grey Cup game.

One former Husker however, Toronto cornerback Josh Mitchell, can call himself a champion, even if he had to watch the game from the sidelines. Mitchell, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1, was nevertheless vocal, going heavy on the retweets on Twitter on Sunday, filling up his feed with pro-Argos tweets after Toronto’s first Grey Cup win since 2012.

Evans finished with one tackle in Sunday’s loss, but also had a pass break-up on Toronto’s first pass of the game.

What is clear is Evans established himself as one of the most solid cornerbacks in the CFL in 2017. He tied for third in the league in interceptions with five, a career high, and anchored a Calgary secondary that ranked first in the CFL in passing yards allowed and passing touchdowns allowed.

Given the reputation Evans has built for himself in Canada, there is now some chattering out of Calgary that Evans may have his eyes on heading south and pursuing an NFL opportunity.

Per Daniel Austin of the Calgary Sun :

“While the Stampeders haven’t released their list of free-agents yet, it’s understood that both Ciante Evans and DaVaris Daniels are out of their contracts.

Evans seems like a sure-thing to get a shot in the NFL. He’s 25-years-old and has been one of the very best corners in the CFL for the last two seasons. Some team, somewhere in the U.S. is going to want to take a look at his suitability for the NFL game, and it could be a big loss for the Stamps.”

As for whether Evans has a legitimate shot at the NFL, it remains to be seen how much the grooming in Canada has smoothed over any physical shortcomings NFL teams perceived when he went undrafted in 2014.

Canadians for Nebraska is a group of Husker fans in Canada not affiliated with the University of Nebraska. It can be found on Twitter @CdnsForNebraska.