Derek Mortensen/Electric Umbrella
Christion Jones has found a home in Saskatchewan, but he’s still a long way from home.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ returner hails from Birmingham, Ala., a city that he says contains “a lot of treacherous, muddy areas.”
“You can get caught and lost in Birmingham dealing with the wrong things and being around the wrong people,” says Jones, 24. “I made up my mind not to be that guy.
“It creates tough character, but you also learn to be humble because when you want something, you have to clear out all the external factors around you — even in the midst of negative things going on around you.”
As a youngster, Jones saw first-hand the hazards of the city, whether it was drug or alcohol abuse or acts of racism or violence. In middle school, for example, he saw someone get shot.
“It’s mind-boggling,” Jones says. “I don’t have any kids, but I’ve got a lot of friends who have kids. The moment you walk outside, you’re vulnerable to everything. It’s tough, especially when you find out that the guys who are dead or in jail have left siblings or kids. It just hurts.
“There are tons of things that I don’t even want to fathom and get my mind to,” he adds. “I’ve seen so many great athletes better than myself get lost in Birmingham and get caught up in that environment.
“One thing I like to tell myself is I don’t want to be too far away from it to make it seem like it doesn’t exist and then be oblivious to the fact that I need to stay focused. But I also don’t want to be too close to it that I’m sunk into that world. It’s a balance.”
Jones admits he was tempted to cross the line when he was younger, but the guidance he received from his parents (Sonya Jordan and Claude Jones) helped him differentiate between the right and wrong paths.
He also was able to steer clear of trouble by playing football and basketball. He played both sports at school, but he was active in Amateur Athletic Union basketball.
“(AAU) basically keeps you busy from the spring through the summer,” he says. “By the time you’re done with that, it’s time to enrol back in school. That’s how I stayed busy, so thanks to my mom and my father for doing that.”
After starring in football in high school, Jones landed a scholarship at the University of Alabama.
The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder was a special-teams star for the Crimson Tide, returning 68 kickoffs for 1,727 yards and two touchdowns and 66 punts for 719 yards and three scores over his four seasons at the school.
After being bypassed in the 2015 NFL draft, Jones signed as a free agent with the Miami Dolphins. He was cut by Miami prior to the 2015 season, re-signed by the Dolphins in March of 2016, and released in the off-season.
He signed with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in May of 2016, but was released after suffering a hamstring injury in training camp. He subsequently worked out for Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones, but aggravated the hamstring injury.
On July 17 of this year — after returning to full health — Christion Jones signed with the Roughriders.
He enters Sunday’s East Division semifinal against the host Ottawa Redblacks as Saskatchewan’s leading punt returner this season despite playing only 10 regular-season games.
He returned 45 punts for 645 yards with two touchdowns, including a 97-yarder in Ottawa on Sept. 29 that helped the Roughriders overcome a 17-0 deficit en route to an 18-17 victory. In two games against Ottawa, Jones had 11 punt returns for 234 yards and a TD.
He also had 18 kickoff returns for 423 yards and one reception for six yards in the regular season.
“He’s a high-character guy,” Chris Jones said. “He’s one of those guys you have to keep your thumb on a little bit, but he’s a very good person … He has been a big addition to our football team.”
Once the Roughriders’ 2017 campaign is done, Christion Jones plans to work hard through the off-season as well. He and former Alabama quarterback Blake Sims (who had a stint with the Roughriders in 2015) started a football camp in 2016 to help youths in Birmingham.
“It’s important to give back because, to receive, it’s a must that you give,” Jones says. “I’ve been taught that all my life growing up in church.
“Giving is not just the offering to church. It’s helping people in need and also building knowledge. That’s what the camp is for. Obviously it’s for building athletic ability and different techniques and fundamentals for football, but also just to give people a headstart.
“That’s what life is about: Learning from others’ experiences to be wise. That’s something that we really try to stress.”
The goal of the camp, Jones says, is to help kids manoeuvre around the pitfalls and become self-confident. If they can, Jones believes they’ll follow the straight and narrow instead of falling in with the wrong crowd.
“My main focus is to bring awareness to the young in my community at an early age and make them feel comfortable in their own skin,” Jones says. “If a kid is good with himself, all the other stuff will eliminate itself. He won’t put himself in certain positions and he’ll easily create leadership skills, whether it’s vocal or leading by example.
“When that happens, you don’t worry about what people say or about people doubting you or saying you shouldn’t be doing something that you have your mind set on … It’s all about being comfortable with yourself.”
