Cavil played college football at the University of Texas at Austin from 1997 to 1999. In 1999, he set a school single-season record by recording 100 receptions. He was the first player ever to leave one of Mack Brown's Texas teams with college eligibility remaining. Cavil was suspended from the team prior to the bowl game in his junior year, for "violation of team rules." The nature of the violation was not specified by Brown, Cavil, or the university. It is uncertain if Cavil would have been welcomed back to the team for his senior season if he had not left early, but it was reported at the time that Brown says he never tells players what to do if they are considering entering the NFL draft early, implying that it was in fact an early departure for the draft. Cavil himself said "After great deliberation with my family, I have decided to forgo my final year of eligibility and go to the NFL," Cavil subsequently went undrafted.^[2]

After his professional football career, Cavil returned to the University of Texas to complete his studies, earning his bachelor's degree from the College of Education in the Spring of 2010.^[3]

Cavil was a wide receiver for the NFL Buffalo Bills in 2000.

Cavil joined the CFL in 2002, signing his first contract with the Montreal Alouettes. He has since moved around the league,^[4] most recently having been traded by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to the Blue Bombers on Friday, August 18, 2006, for a third round pick in the 2007 CFL Draft.