Between The Lines: Former Saskatchewan Huskies DL Charlie Parks plays first CFL game at home

It wasn’t the result the Ottawa Redblacks were looking for Friday night. Still, for rookie defensive lineman Charlie Parks, the 42-20 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium was a memorable night.

It wasn’t the result the Ottawa Redblacks were looking for Friday night. Still, for rookie defensive lineman Charlie Parks, the 42-20 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium was a memorable night.

Parks, a Regina native and former University of Saskatchewan Huskie, got the opportunity to play a professional football game in his hometown for the first time. And the 22-year-old didn’t have to travel far to get there. Parks grew up just a 10-minute walk from Mosaic Stadium, making his first CFL game in Regina an experience he won’t soon forget.

His introduction to the CFL, however, came with a bit of a collision. During Ottawa’s game against Saskatchewan earlier this season, Parks was playing on special teams when he got flattened on a kickoff return.

“It would have been our game at home against Saskatchewan. I sat back on kick return and just got run over,” Parks recalled. “I was like, ‘Oh, it’s been a while since I felt that one.’”

Parks said he has since learned from the experience and adjusted his positioning.

“Since then I kind of figured out how to position myself a little better and it hasn’t happened since, so fingers are crossed that won’t happen again.”

Parks even remembered exactly who delivered the hit.

“I’m pretty sure it was Aubrey Miller Jr. who just came flying down on kickoff and hit me right under the chin. I was like, ‘Darn!’”

While special teams may have provided Parks with his first taste of CFL adversity, it’s also an aspect of the game he genuinely enjoys. Parks has embraced the responsibility of playing special teams as a young player trying to establish himself in the CFL.

“I love special teams,” Parks said. “I said it in all the interviews I had at the draft.”

For Parks, special teams represents football in one of its simplest and purest forms.

“I assume there’s a lot of guys that kind of don’t really accept that role as something they’re gonna have to do as a young guy in the CFL, but I love it,” he said.

“It’s like, for me, it’s the epitome of one-on-one competition. I’ve got my job, you’ve got your job, my job is to stop you from doing that. Who’s gonna win?”

That competitive element is what draws Parks to special teams. He sees every rep as a battle between two players, while also providing an opportunity to challenge himself.

“That’s one of the biggest reasons I love football. I get to compete head-to-head not only with other guys but with myself,” Parks explained. “I think that special teams honestly boils that down to one of its purest forms.”

Parks believes there’s only so much that can be accomplished through schemes on special teams before the game comes down to individual battles.

“There’s only so much scheme that you can really do on special teams before you’re just thinking too much about it,” he said. “It just boils down to all those one-on-one matchups. I love it.”

For a Regina kid who grew up just minutes from Mosaic Stadium, getting the chance to play a professional football game on the field he grew up around made Friday night a special one, even if the scoreboard didn’t go Ottawa’s way.

And that’s Between The Lines for Sheppard Realty in Regina, specializing in farm and ranch real estate in Saskatchewan. Call Harry, Justin or Devan at 352-1866.