Team Canada alumni Knevel on radar of NFL and CFL teams after Pro Day
By Ameeta Vohra
It’s been a whirlwind offseason for former Team Canada and Team Ontario offensive lineman David Knevel.
Last week, the 6’9, 319-pound native of Brantford, Ontario participated in a Pro Day with NFL and CFL scouts observing his every move.
In the bench press, Knevel recorded 16 reps at 225 pounds. Moreover, he heard that he got somewhere between 5.3 and 5.6 in the 40-yard dash.
“It went pretty smoothly which I’m pretty happy about,” he commented after the event in an interview with CBS Sports. “The position drills went well; I am happy to be over with it so I can focus on more football training now but it was an experience and I had a lot of fun.”
In the previous CFL Scouting Bureau Rankings in December, Knevel was ranked as the top prospect. As previously reported by multiple sources, he will not be participating in the CFL National Combine in Toronto because he opted to use his school’s Pro Day to leverage the platform to get to the next level.
“I want to shoot for the NFL,” Knevel added in the interview with CBS Sports. “Obviously, I would love to play back in Canada but mostly I want to play pro-football somewhere.”
“My agent has spoken to about a dozen teams from the NFL and decent feedback, probably a priority free agent. That’s what I am hoping for. Then in the CFL, I have talked with every team and good feedback.”
In 2017, Knevel completed his collegiate career with NCAA Division 1’s Nebraska Cornhuskers. During his career, he played in 31 games. He has been selected four consecutive times to both the Tom Osborne and Brook Berringer Citizenship Teams (2014-2017 inclusively). Additionally, he has made the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honour Roll three times (Fall 2014, Spring 2016 and 2017) and was named an Athletic All-Big Team In 2016.
Representing his country, Knevel helped the Team Canada win the gold medal at the 2012 IFAF World Junior Championships by defeating Team United States 23-17. In 2011, the lineman represented his home province as a member of Team Ontario West at the Football Canada Cup in Lethbridge, Alberta.
North of the border, the offensive lineman previously suited up for both the Pauline Johnson Thunderbirds of the Brant County Secondary School Athletic Association (BCSSAA) and Brantford Bisons of the Ontario Football Conference (OFC).
