Christion Jones doesn’t waste time.
The 25-year-old product of Adamsville, Ala., has played in just 15 regular-season games with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders and he’s already tied for second on the team’s all-time list with three punt returns for touchdowns.
He has four TD returns in 17 games if you include the playoffs, which is the best frequency in league history. And his career average per return is tops in franchise history.
Even Jones admits he didn’t think things would go so well so quickly.
“I came in with low expectations last year — well, not really low expectations; I just wasn’t expecting things to happen as fast as they have,” he said at Mosaic Stadium. “I built the trust of Coach (Chris) Jones and the team earlier than I thought I would.
“It has all been a surprise and a blur to me.”
Christion Jones certainly has made his mark in short order.
He’s a dynamic, fearless player.
He was one of the NCAA’s most dangerous returners when he was at the University of Alabama. In 52 career games with the Crimson Tide, he returned 66 punts for 719 yards and three touchdowns and 68 kickoffs for 1,727 yards and two TDs.
After stints with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins (in 2015 and ’16) and the Toronto Argonauts (2016), Jones signed with the Roughriders in July of 2017. He spent two weeks on the practice roster before making his debut.
In the 10 regular-season games he played, Jones had 45 punt returns for 645 yards and two touchdowns and 18 kickoff returns for 423 yards. He added 12 punt returns for 223 yards and one TD in Saskatchewan’s two playoff games.
So far this season, Jones has returned 26 punts for 359 yards and a touchdown — a 61-
yarder during a 31-20 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on July 19. He also has 17 kickoff returns for 410 yards.
“The guy loves football,” said Craig Dickenson, Saskatchewan’s special-teams co-ordinator. “Not that these other guys don’t, but he loves football to a different level than a lot of guys I’ve coached. He’s a dynamic, fearless player.
“The thing you love about him is he’s hungry. Each rep, it’s almost like it feeds the beast a little bit. The next one, he wants more. The next one, he wants even more.”
Corey Holmes holds the Roughriders’ record with five punt-return touchdowns, accomplishing that feat in 75 regular-season games. Jones is one of four players tied for second with three such TDs.
Willis Jacox had three return TDs in 28 career contests, but all three occurred over 17 games in 1991. Curtis Mayfield turned the trick in 66 career games, but his three TDs came in a 16-game span in 1999. Weston Dressler is the fourth member of the tie, having returned three punts for TDs over 123 games with Saskatchewan.
Entering Saturday’s match against the visiting Calgary Stampeders, Jones’ career average is 14.1 yards — better than the averages of Holmes (12.1), Mayfield (11.5), Jacox (10.6) and Dressler (10.3).
Throw in Jones’ return in the 2017 Eastern Final and he has four punt-return TDs in 17 career games. That’s a ratio of one in every 4.25 games; according to the CFL, legendary Edmonton Eskimos returner Gizmo Williams had one TD in every 6.4 games.
“It’s OK to glance at (records), but once you start consistently looking at those things and comparing yourself to other guys, you lose focus on what the team is trying to do,” Jones said. “I want to focus on what the team is trying to do each week to be efficient and effective.”
Jones remains humble about his accomplishments in Saskatchewan. Asked to explain his success, he said: “God and the other 11 guys out there.”
“That’s part of what makes him special,” Dickenson said. “He not only realizes what he brings to the table, but he’s the first guy to give credit and to pat his teammates on the back for a job well done.
“Because of that, our guys work especially hard for him because they know what kind of player he is. They know he’s giving them everything he’s got.”
The timing of Jones’ big returns also is impressive.
In 2017, he recorded his first return touchdown when Saskatchewan was trailing the host Ottawa Redblacks 17-0. The Roughriders came back to win 18-17.
His second TD last season occurred in Calgary, giving the Roughriders their first points in what turned into a 30-7 victory.
His third came in the Eastern Final, putting Saskatchewan ahead of the host Argos with 2:44 left in the fourth quarter. Toronto rallied for a 25-21 victory.
“In Toronto last year, we were on the sideline and he told us, ‘I’m going to go score. I’ll be right back,’ ” Roughriders safety Mike Edem said. “We were like, ‘OK.’
“In his mind, he’s a guy, when he has the ball in his hands, who feels like he can score from wherever he is. That’s how electrifying he is because he can score from anywhere.”
Jones noted that his primary goal is to help the Roughriders win the Grey Cup. While records aren’t his thing, they could fall as he goes after a title.
But he also admitted that he has a personal objective. Asked if he’s trying to prove something to NFL types with his play in the CFL, Jones replied: “I’m proving the world wrong.”
But doesn’t that contradict his team-first approach?
“You don’t have to focus on your goal to have a goal every day,” he said. “You know what the goal is. I don’t dwell on what my goal is. I just focus on how I’m going to accomplish it and I accomplish it by doing the simple things.
“No superhero-type thing is happening. I’m not drinking different water or different Gatorade. I’m focusing on things that I may have overlooked when I first became a pro. I’ve had legends like Chad (Owens) to learn from here and I’ve been embracing that — and I’m going to continue to embrace it.”
