Former roommates Evans, Manziel to square off in regular-season finale
HAMILTON Dane Evans and Johnny Manziel began the season as roommates, but will finish it as onfield rivals.
Evans will make his first CFL start Saturday night when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (8-9) host Montreal (4-13). Manziel will make his eighth appearance under centre for the Alouettes.
“Dane is as good a dude as there is out there,” Manziel said Friday. “I enjoyed my time in that quarterback room (Evans, starter Jeremiah Masoli and Bryant Moniz) were a good group of guys.
“I’m obviously happy for (Evans) that he’s going to get a chance to get some time to play and give Masoli some rest for a playoff run. It’s going to be good to see him getting out there and spinning it.”
Evans will make his first start since Dec. 19, 2016 when he threw for 304 yards and five TDs in Tulsa’s 55-20 over Central Michigan in the Miami Beach Bowl. The 24-year-old admits doing so against his former roommate is peculiar.
“I mean it’s odd but it’s kind of this game,” he said. “The game of football has a way of tying people together and circling back.
“No matter where you go in Canada or back in the States, you always go to a team that you know somebody or you know somebody who knows somebody. It’s just kind of funny how everything circles back together like that.” Evans called Manziel, “a good roommate.” “We watched a lot of TV, we watched Westworld (a science fiction series) together,” he said. “That was kind of like our show that we bonded over so that was cool.
“We’d just talk about whatever. Old games, video games . . . he’s just a normal guy.”
Manziel made headlines across North America in May when he signed a two-year contract with Hamilton and began his CFL tenure rooming with Evans. But after the former Heisman Trophy winner saw no playing time behind Masoli, the Ticats dealt Johnny Football and offensive linemen Tony Washington and Landon Rice to Montreal in late July for defensive end Jamaal Westerman and receiver Chris Williams as well as 2020 and 2021 first-round draft picks.
Hamilton head coach June Jones reiterated Friday that Manziel was traded to give him a better shot at playing. But Jones added Evans’ development was also a factor.