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DeQuin spends much of his off-season these days in Tacoma, attending to her needs, between training sessions and brief side trips to Calgary to be with his wife.

“My mom was always there for me, growing up, and I want to be there for her now,” he explains. “My wife is very understanding of the situation. It’s a blessing to wake up every day and be able to just make coffee for her. My mom struggled to raise four kids in a tough neighbourhood. She’s a soldier. Maybe that’s where I get my drive from.”

Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG

Growing up in inner-city Los Angeles, DeQuin was exposed to gang life early and spent time in juvenile detention at Camp Kilpatrick — the first in the U.S. with a state-sanctioned, high school sports program and the focus of the 2006 movie, Gridiron Gang, starring Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson.

It helped to turn his life around.

He graduated, went on to play at L.A. Harbor Junior College and later was recruited by Kentucky, along with childhood friend Chris Matthews, the 2012 CFL rookie of the year with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and a Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks.

Undrafted in 2011, Evans caught on with the Cincinnati Bengals for three seasons before coming to Calgary in 2014.

Playing behind John Bowman and Gabriel Knapton last year with the Als, he appeared in just five games. His signing with the Lions — who lost sack-leader Alex Bazzie to the Indianapolis Colts in free agency — might be just the career break he needs.

“In Montreal, he’s got to compete against John Bowman,” says Lions head coach and general manager Wally Buono. “In Calgary, he’s got to compete against Charleston Hughes. No matter how good you are, sometimes you’re not going to get your chance. We like him. And he’s excited about coming. It gives us an experienced veteran who can start for us.”