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.<\/p>\n
So, Charlie Parks, about your trademark face paint \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich iteration?\u201d the University of Saskatchewan Huskies\u2019 defensive end replied with a chuckle from Edmonton \u2014 site of this weekend\u2019s CFL Combine.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s Sheldon-Williams Spartans.<\/p>\n
Last year, however, the 6-foot-4, 232-pounder altered the look, opting to spread the eye-black exclusively on one side.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just something like the wild man, basically,\u201d Parks said. \u201cFor me, dressing up in my football equipment is a way of getting a different version of myself out into the world.<\/p>\n
\u201c(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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the signal that \u2018Civilized Charlie is gone. It\u2019s time to play.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
And play he did, earning Canada West\u2019s Most Outstanding Lineman award and being named a First-Team All-Canadian.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWrestling is one of the best sports for just learning how to control your body when you\u2019re in weird positions,\u201d Parks said. \u201cYou\u2019re getting twisted up and contorted in all kinds of different ways and you have to find a way to be strong.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really the same thing when you\u2019re getting twisted up by an offensive lineman. I still have to find a way to stay on my feet and stay strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parks\u2019 various feats were noted by Huskies head coach Scott Flory.<\/p>\n
The Flory connection dates back to 1998, when he and defensive lineman Brent Dancey \u2014 Parks\u2019 uncle \u2014 were teammates at the U of S.<\/p>\n
Dancey played junior football for the Regina Rams before joining the Huskies.<\/p>\n
Following a comparable path, Parks moved to Saskatoon from his hometown to study at the U of S and play on the defensive line.<\/p>\n
Before too long, it was necessary to draw upon his past experiences in Regina.<\/p>\n
Parks rebounded from a broken leg he suffered in Sheldon-Williams\u2019 first game of the 2019 Regina Intercollegiate Football League season.<\/p>\n
In 2024, a back injury limited Parks to just four games with the Huskies. Once again, he returned to the field with a flourish.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou learn more and more every time something happens,\u201d he said. \u201cI know what I\u2019m capable of doing because I\u2019ve done it before. When I get hurt, I know I\u2019m going to come back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just the way it is. That\u2019s what I do. I come back from things and I come back better.\u201d<\/p>\n
What message does that send to CFL talent evaluators?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that just puts my work ethic, my resilience and my toughness on display,\u201d said Parks, who was an honourable mention Coaches\u2019 Choice after Saturday\u2019s on-field sessions at the Combine.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get to (return to the field in top form) by half-assing and skipping workouts and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mindset has long been in effect for Parks, whose football goal was established when he was starring in Regina Minor Football\u2019s atom ranks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to Rider games every time I could with my family,\u201d he recalled. \u201cWatching 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, \u2018This is something I really want to do. I want to go out and be John Chick.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
With some unique touches, such as the eye black and the previously referenced assortment of suits.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trick is to be a weird size so you can hit up the clearance racks,\u201d Parks said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other trick is to just buy pieces. I don\u2019t remember if I\u2019ve ever bought a full suit at once, but I somehow have four jackets and a bunch of shirts and about 25 ties.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not to mention innumerable laughs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve figured out that there\u2019s not really any point in having a frown,\u201d Parks said. \u201cIf you just go into things with a smile, go into things happy, you tend to come out happy and with a smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019s always cracking jokes, and he\u2019s always trying to make people laugh \u2014\u00a0and laugh at himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 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\u2019t really let myself have the fun I should have been having with doing a lot of things.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last year, I\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
(The Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation supports all elite football in Saskatchewan.)<\/p>\n
\u2022 PHOTO CREDIT: Huskie Athletics<\/p>\n
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