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Former Coquitlam soccer and touch football player headed to NFL draft

Jevon Holland's dad played and coached for the BC Lions
Jevon Howard
Jevon Howard is headed to a top selection in the 2021 NFL draft after the Coquitlam-raised safety opted out of his junior season at the University of Oregon.

A former star safety with the University of Oregon Ducks who spent his early years in Coquitlam could be the most sought-after Canadian in the next NFL draft.

Jevon Holland recently opted out of his junior year at school to prepare for the 2021 draft, where some analysts say he could be picked in the first round.

In Holland’s two seasons at Oregon, he was credited with 72 solo tackles, nine interceptions and 19 pass deflections. Coming into the 2020 season that has been shortened to six games and is set to begin this weekend because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was ranked the second best player in the PAC-12 conference.

But on Sept. 26, Holland announced on Twitter he wasn’t going to play. He subsequently told The Oregonian one of the reasons for his decision was to protect his health as college football pressed on with its plan to play despite the public health crisis.

Holland spent his first eight years in Coquitlam, where he played touch football as well as soccer with North Coquitlam United. 

Jevon Howard
A young Jevon Howard played soccer and touch football in Coquitlam until his family moved to the San Francisco area when he was eight. - FACEBOOK
A young Jevon Howard played soccer and touch football in Coquitlam until his family moved to the San Francisco area when he was eight. - FACEBOOK

His dad, Robert, played seven years in the Canadian Football League, retiring as a BC Lion in 1997 after which he did some coaching for the team.

When Jevon was eight, the family moved to the Oakland area. He played high school football at Bishop O’Dowd high school in Oakland where he rose to the 13th-rated safety in America in his senior year. He also caught 35 passes and scored 12 touchdowns while playing offence.

Holland was recruited to the University of Oregon in 2017.