Carleton’s Trevor Hoyte and Alain Cimankinda were selected in the Canadian Football League (CFL) draft on May 4, with Hoyte selected 33rd overall by the Toronto Argonauts and Cimankinda 35th overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Hoyte and Cimankinda, along with three other Carleton football players—Cole Hepburn, Shaiheem Charles-Brown and Danny McWhirter—were also invited to the CFL combine on April 15.
Hoyte, a linebacker and astrophysics major, will join former Raven Jack Cassar in Toronto. Hoyte said he is grateful for the chance to prove himself on a CFL roster.
“The whole experience was pretty surreal and awesome, especially to see your name on the CFL website,” Hoyte said.
He said the opportunity is especially meaningful because of the sacrifices his family made for him to get to where he is today.
“To have those sacrifices and all of my hard work pay off, it’s just incredible. I’m very grateful,” Hoyte added.
Hoyte said his biggest goal for the upcoming season—if it happens at all—is to continue honing his skills on the gridiron. As Sportsnet’s Arash Madani recently reported, CFL officials are still unsure if the season will proceed as planned due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“I would like to have an opportunity to showcase my skills,” Hoyte said. “I think I can contribute to the team … my expectations are high.”
READ MORE ABOUT TREVOR HOYTE: “Astrophysics student-athlete reaches for the stars.”
Steve Sumarah, head coach of the Ravens football team, praised the athletes who were invited to the combine.
“Trevor, Danny, Cole and Shaiheem have all had excellent careers at Carleton,” Sumarah said in an email, noting that Cimankinda transferred to Carleton from the University of Guelph in September 2020. “All of them have started and been major contributions on our defense.”
Hepburn, a defensive back and criminology major, said he was honoured to receive an invite to the combine.
“I was extremely humbled,” Hepburn said. “Not everyone gets an opportunity like the combine. It was a moment where I felt like all my hard work since I was a kid came together.”
“With anything of this nature, hard work is the key,” Sumarah said. “With so many challenges thrown their way, all of them have found the opportunity to work in the weight room, on the field and on their individual skills.”
The Ravens’ strength coach worked with some of the athletes on a running and strength program to prepare them for the draft while others trained by themselves, Sumarah said. He said he believes the players should be in control of what they do to prepare for the next level.
“In these situations, we always feel it is important that the player does what he thinks is best to make the jump to the next level,” Sumarah said. “We will support them in any way we can.”
Hepburn said he started preparing six weeks before the draft. It consisted of 10 workouts a week—four running workouts, four lift sessions and two team sessions to practice position-specific drills.
Sumarah acknowledged there were challenges in preparing for a draft during a pandemic, especially with a stay-at-home order that closed gyms and campus athletic facilities. Because of the closures, Sumarah said players in this year’s draft had fewer training resources available to them and suffered athletically compared to players from previous years.
“It is going to be extremely difficult to make a CFL roster this year based on the numbers that CFL clubs can bring in and how strong the competition will be,” Sumarah said. “That being said, if the players who get drafted perform as they are capable of, then it will be hard for a CFL team not to keep them.”
Due to COVID-19, Hepburn said he had to work around gym, track and field closures in Ottawa to train. Without a pandemic, he said his six weeks of training would’ve been four months.
“I can’t complain though,” Hepburn said. “Some athletes could not even get into a gym to train, so I have to consider myself lucky.”
Sumarah said getting drafted does more than help the player—it also helps Carleton’s football program. Drafted players mean more high school athletes will consider Carleton as a viable pathway to playing professionally.
“It helps showcase your program,” Sumarah said. “The recruits look at that and see that as a program they could develop in, as well as with the opportunity to move on to the next level.”
Hepburn said he’s grateful for his coaches for guiding him through the draft process and supporting him through his time at Carleton.
“They helped lead me on the right path to get to where I am. I have much love for all the coaches and players at Carleton,” Hepburn said. “No one gets to go through the combine and draft process for the CFL twice. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event for an athlete.”
Featured image from file.
