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May 29, 2017

Jonesing for a job

Linebacker Riley Jones during 2017 training camp (Photo by Rob McMorris)

Riley Jones grew up in the Greater Toronto Area city of Mississauga. He spent his high-school years in the Vancouver-area municipality of Delta.

So naturally, when it comes to his Canadian Football League football allegiances . . .

“I liked the Ticats back in the day,” he declares.

Quickly, he adds: “But I’m a Calgary fan now.”

The Stampeders, after all, are the outfit that signed Jones after the linebacker out of the University of British Columbia went unpicked in the CFL draft.

“Definitely it was disappointing,” he says of being skipped over for seven rounds by all nine teams in his draft year. “It was my goal to get drafted but I’m here now. I’m on the team. I’m just going to keep working my best and try to make sure I stay here.”

Jones has previous experience on the McMahon Stadium turf as his UBC Thunderbirds made regular visits to Calgary to face the Dinos. In the 2016 Hardy Cup at McMahon, Jones even returned an interception 53 yards for a touchdown, albeit in a losing cause.

All those Thunderbirds-Dinos meetings over the years accounted for the only familiar face for Jones at Stamps training camp.

“I played (former Dinos QB Andrew) Buckley for a while,” laughs Jones. “He beat up on UBC for multiple years.”

Jones and the T-Birds did get the best of Buckley’s Dinos in the 2015 Canada West final as UBC went on to win the national championship. In Jones’ first three seasons at UBC, the team had posted a combined 8-16 record.

“It was incredible,” says Jones. “I kind of saw it all, losing a lot of games in my first few years and then the quick turnaround when Coach (Blake) Nill came in and being able to win the Vanier was probably my most fond football experience. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Now Jones is trying to write the next chapter of his football career by earning a spot on the Stamps roster.

“Just get better every day,” he says of his approach to training camp. “Just do whatever I can. If I’ve got to be the snapper, if I’ve got to be a linebacker, if I’ve got to be just a special-teams guy . . . Whatever I’ve got to do to make this team, I’m going to do it. If they want me to play o-line, I’ll play it. It doesn’t matter. Whatever I can do to help this team.”

The adjustment to the pro game has been breathtaking for Jones.

“It’s faster,” he declares. “Definitely a lot faster than what I’m used to. Everybody’s pretty friendly, pretty nice. The vets are pretty understanding with helping me with the playbook. I’m trying to get up to speed and show what I can do. It’s been a fun experience so far.”