Jevon Cottoy (born November 21, 1996) is a Canadian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played junior football for the

Calgary Colts The Calgary Colts are a Canadian Junior Football team based in Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 ...

and

Langley Rams The Langley Rams (formerly the South Surrey Rams and Big Kahuna Rams) are a Canadian Junior Football team based in Langley, British Columbia. The Rams play in the seven-team B.C. Football Conference, which itself is part of the Canadian Junior Fo ...

Early life

Cottoy was born in

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

to parents Valerie and Elroy and has a younger sister, Brianna. He moved to

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

when he was nine years old to live with his father who was working and living there. After playing soccer and cricket in his youth, Cottoy began playing football when he was 13 years old.

Junior career

Cottoy played for the

of the

Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to professional footbal ...

in 2014 and 2015 where he was named the 2014 Prairie Football Conference's Rookie of the Year. He was offered a scholarship to play for the

Calgary Dinos football The Calgary Dinos football team represents the University of Calgary in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Dinos program has been in operation since 1964, winning the Vanier Cup national championship five times (1983, 1985, 1988, 199 ...

team for the 2016 season, but he tore his ACL and MCL just before the season and was unable to play. Cottoy didn't play football for two years and was training in Calgary to become a firefighter. After discussions with friends and family, he reunited with his former coach, Matt Blokker, to play for the

in 2018. He played in eight games in the 2018 regular season and finished with 39 catches for 657 yards and eight touchdowns. In the playoffs that year, the Rams played in four games, including the championship game, where Cottoy had 25 receptions for 645 yards and eight touchdowns.

Professional career

After a dominant junior career, Cottoy signed with the

on December 12, 2018, as a territorial protected junior player. Following a strong training camp, he made the team's active roster and played in his first game on June 15, 2019 against the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

where he recorded one reception for six yards. He scored his first touchdown on a three-yard reception from Mike Reilly on July 20, 2019, against the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

. He finished his rookie season having played in 16 regular season games and recorded 38 receptions for 386 yards and one touchdown. After the CFL canceled the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Cottoy chose to opt-out of his contract with the Lions on August 31, 2020. He had attended a workout with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

, but eventually re-signed with the Lions on June 21, 2021. Cottoy remained an important component of the Lions' passing attack over the next two seasons, playing in all 32 regular season games and contributing with 89 receptions for 1,070 yards and six touchdowns. Following the 2022 season Cottoy had a workout with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). However, he was not offered a contract and returned to the Lions for their 2023 season. He played in all 18 regular season games where he had a career-high 57 receptions for 807 yards and four touchdowns.

References

External links

BC Lions bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cottoy, Jevon 1996 births Living people Canadian football wide receivers Canadian Junior Football League players Saint Vincent and the Grenadines players of Canadian football Saint Vincent and the Grenadines sportspeople Players of Canadian football from Alberta Canadian football people from Calgary BC Lions players