Over the last few seasons, the University of Manitoba Bisons’ secondary has rightfully earned the nickname of ‘DBU.’ Under the leadership of long-time positional coach Richard Urbanovich and defensive backs guru Sean Oleksewycz (first year on staff was 2019), Manitoba has produced three conference all-stars over the last two seasons (Shae Weekes, Arjay Shelley and Marcel Arruda-Welch). Additionally, in 2019 the Herd tied for fifth in the nation in interceptions, with 11, while this past year they were eighth in the nation in passing yards per game, giving up just 200.2. 

One of the keys to Manitoba’s success on the back end has been their versatility. In 2021 for example, the group’s combination of speed, physicality and length caused significant problems for the opposition. Locking down the field corner spot was Shelley, whose 6’4” length was desirable on the strong side. Six-foot-four true freshman Jake Nitychoruk also saw time at corner. He and Shelley both played multiple positions in high school, with their well-rounded skills sets playing a factor in their development,

This offseason, the Bisons were in the market for another long and rangy corner to provide depth in the secondary, as Shelley’s eligibility will run out after 2022. They found their man in 6’3” Brayden Parker, a Thunder Bay, Ontario native who’s played every position except on the line during his lengthy football career. 

“My grade nine year I played quarterback, my grade ten year I played receiver and in grade 12 I played DB. I’ve played all over the field and I just feel like my understanding of the game was so good, which was what separated me back in grade ten when I wasn’t the biggest guy. I was able to use my IQ,” he noted. 

“I love always being on my toes. In all of my years, I never really knew what my position was going to be. I’ve always played different positions and I’ve always enjoyed doing the best I could for the team.”

Team Manitoba changes the course of Parkers career

Parker’s progression from an unheralded athlete to a U SPORTS commit can be credited in part to his experience with Manitoba’s high-performance program. In 2019, he was one of 11 players from Ontario that made ‘Toba’s U16 roster for the Western Challenge. 

That year was monumental for Parker. His parents had divorced, which forced him to grow up and mature in a big way. Up to that point, he wasn’t really taking football seriously, but when he earned a roster spot, it opened his eyes to the possibilities of playing at the next level. 

“It was a great way to not only get better as a player, but it was just an all-around great experience for maturing,” he noted. “If you make it all the way to phase three and travel, it’s a big jump. Your whole life you’re spending time with mom and dad and staying at home, but then you’re sent away to do the two-a-days. It’s a really good experience. It’s tough, but once you’re done you really feel accomplished. You have to grow up, or at least learn to grow up.”

Parker, who was a long 5’11” at the time, went to tryouts with the intention of playing receiver. The roster was low on defensive backs though, and in response, Oleksewycz – who was on the team’s staff – reached out to him just prior to the black and gold game (the final stage of tryouts) to see if he wanted to make a positional switch. His high-point abilities and overall ball-skills intrigued Manitoba’s staff, and after seeing him do a quick backpedal, the decision to shift to defence was made. 

Parker considered the move to be “what changed the whole course of my football career.”

“That was my first time really playing DB to be honest,” he said. “I used to have a pretty wonky backpedal, but once [Oleksewycz] took me in and coached me up, I feel like I’ve tightened it up a little bit more. Coach Ollie also has a thing for where your eyes are at. I still struggle with it. It’s probably one of the hardest things you can do as a DB is training and disciplining your eyes, I’m still trying to perfect it.”

Upon returning home, Parker quickly put his newfound skills to use. As a member of the St. Ignatius Falcons, he recorded 27 tackles and two interceptions. Then, this past summer, he filled out his frame and was a force for the Hammarskjold Vikings varsity team as a senior who played on both sides of the ball. 

It certainly helped that Parker gained four inches, while packing on roughly 50 pounds over the prior two years. He’s currently training five days a week in the gym and spent a decent portion of 2021 carrying lumber and shoveling with his uncle while on a reserve that was six hours away. 

“I gained all this weight and all this height, and I stepped on the field at the beginning of September for the start of training camp, and I hadn’t ran for a while, but I had all of this speed too. I kind of just embraced it all and did the most I could to make sure I had a good tape.”

Parker’s upside and prior relationship with Oleksewycz were contributing factors in his recruitment to the U of M. His length reminds Oleksewycz of Shelley, Nitychoruk and starting safety, 6’4” Stephen Adamopoulos. 

“His ball skills are the strength of his game so far. He has tons of upside and we’re hoping he turns into a diamond in the rough for us in the future,” the positional coach said.

“The few weeks we got with him we could see the strides in his game coming from Northwestern Ontario. It was super beneficial for myself and him to start that relationship with the high-performance program.”

Parker is stoked to be reunited with Oleksewycz. He had offers from schools such as the University of Toronto and Queen’s, however his familiarity with the coach ended up being a significant factor in choosing UM. 

“I’ve had a lot of coaches who’ve had an impact on my life, but coach Ollie has been the most impactful in terms of my positional play. He was the one who put me at corner, he was the one who was always giving me advice on what to do better. It wasn’t just about being at the University of Manitoba either. It was that he appreciated me as a player and I appreciated him as a coach and we kind of just bonded over that. I feel like I’m pretty lucky to have that connection.”