In conjunction with the CFL Combine, Riderville.com is profiling the four attendees from Saskatchewan-based university teams. The four-part series continues today with a story on University of Saskatchewan Huskies defensive lineman Charlie Parks.

So, Charlie Parks, about your trademark face paint …

“Which iteration?” the University of Saskatchewan Huskies’ defensive end replied with a chuckle from Edmonton — site of this weekend’s CFL Combine.

There was a time when Parks wore eye-black on both sides of his face while starring for the Huskies and, previously, the Regina Intercollegiate Football League’s Sheldon-Williams Spartans.

Last year, however, the 6-foot-4, 232-pounder altered the look, opting to spread the eye-black exclusively on one side.

“That’s just something like the wild man, basically,” Parks said. “For me, dressing up in my football equipment is a way of getting a different version of myself out into the world.

“(Last season) I took it to another level, where I would wear a different suit before every game. I turned it into a ritual where after our pre-game meals, I would hang and bag the suit in my locker.

“That was the signal that ‘Civilized Charlie is gone. It’s time to play.’ ”

And play he did, earning Canada West’s Most Outstanding Lineman award and being named a First-Team All-Canadian.

The accolades were hardly novel to Parks, who in 2022 received a prestigious Lorne Aston Scholarship from the Regina High Schools Athletic Association. The award recognized his excellence athletically, academically and in the community.

In addition to starring for Sheldon-Williams as a defensive lineman and a running back, he was a gold medallist at the RHSAA wrestling championships in Grade 10. Benefits from the wrestling background are still being derived.

“Wrestling is one of the best sports for just learning how to control your body when you’re in weird positions,” Parks said. “You’re getting twisted up and contorted in all kinds of different ways and you have to find a way to be strong.

“It’s really the same thing when you’re getting twisted up by an offensive lineman. I still have to find a way to stay on my feet and stay strong.”

Parks’ various feats were noted by Huskies head coach Scott Flory.

The Flory connection dates back to 1998, when he and defensive lineman Brent Dancey — Parks’ uncle — were teammates at the U of S.

Dancey played junior football for the Regina Rams before joining the Huskies.

Following a comparable path, Parks moved to Saskatoon from his hometown to study at the U of S and play on the defensive line.

Before too long, it was necessary to draw upon his past experiences in Regina.

Parks rebounded from a broken leg he suffered in Sheldon-Williams’ first game of the 2019 Regina Intercollegiate Football League season.

In 2024, a back injury limited Parks to just four games with the Huskies. Once again, he returned to the field with a flourish.

“You learn more and more every time something happens,” he said. “I know what I’m capable of doing because I’ve done it before. When I get hurt, I know I’m going to come back.

“That’s just the way it is. That’s what I do. I come back from things and I come back better.”

What message does that send to CFL talent evaluators?

“I think that just puts my work ethic, my resilience and my toughness on display,” said Parks, who was an honourable mention Coaches’ Choice after Saturday’s on-field sessions at the Combine.

“You don’t get to (return to the field in top form) by half-assing and skipping workouts and stuff like that.”

That mindset has long been in effect for Parks, whose football goal was established when he was starring in Regina Minor Football’s atom ranks.

“I went to Rider games every time I could with my family,” he recalled. “Watching guys like John Chick play for the Riders when I was a kid and then playing football and realizing how much I love it, I thought, ‘This is something I really want to do. I want to go out and be John Chick.’ ”

With some unique touches, such as the eye black and the previously referenced assortment of suits.

“The trick is to be a weird size so you can hit up the clearance racks,” Parks said.

“The other trick is to just buy pieces. I don’t remember if I’ve ever bought a full suit at once, but I somehow have four jackets and a bunch of shirts and about 25 ties.”

Not to mention innumerable laughs.

“I’ve figured out that there’s not really any point in having a frown,” Parks said. “If you just go into things with a smile, go into things happy, you tend to come out happy and with a smile.

“It’s something I figured out on my own. My parents and my friends are always pretty happy. My dad (Bill Parks) always has a big smile on his face, he’s always cracking jokes, and he’s always trying to make people laugh — and laugh at himself.

“After high school, I moved away and I kind of lost that a little bit. I think I was a little bit too intense and I didn’t really let myself have the fun I should have been having with doing a lot of things.

“The last year, I’ve kind of gotten back to that and it has just made everything a lot more enjoyable, a lot better, and made it a lot easier to succeed.”

(The Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation supports all elite football in Saskatchewan.)

• PHOTO CREDIT: Huskie Athletics