Riders look outside gridiron for talent
Much has been made of Chris Jones’ fascination with a player’s versatility.
During his time as the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach and general manager, Jones has made a receiver into a defensive end (A.C. Leonard) and another receiver into a safety (Kevin Francis). Other players in Jones’ defence have been asked to perform duties that aren’t normally part of their job description.
But Tony Criswell may be Jones’ most ambitious experiment. Criswell played basketball in college and in the National Basketball League of Canada before Jones got ahold of him and turned the 6-foot9, 240-pound power forward into a defensive end.
Criswell, 25, is expected to make his CFL debut Friday when the Roughriders visit the Edmonton Eskimos.
“It’s been an adjustment period (for Criswell),” Jones said Wednesday at Mosaic Stadium. “He’s done some good things in the pre-season. Certainly he’s athletic and we look forward to seeing him.”
Criswell was a quarterback when he played football as a youngster — and then his junior year of high school arrived.
“I moved back to Oklahoma City and grew about seven inches, so I just went to the basketball court and it took off from there,” he said. “I got some pretty good offers, so I took advantage of that.”
He spent two seasons at the University of Alabama at Birmingham before moving to Independence (Kan.) Community College. After one season there, Criswell transferred to the University of Missouri and played two seasons there.
The whole time, he maintained a deep-seated love of football.
“It’s like a relationship with a person,” Criswell said with a smile. “(Not playing) built a stronger relationship between me and football. It was more my coaches wouldn’t let me (play football). They wouldn’t let me play two (sports), but every year I’d bring it up: ‘I want to play two.’
“After college, I went to Germany to play a little bit of pro basketball and (football) was still an interest. Then the opportunity approached me — and it’s been great since.”
Criswell was playing for the Halifax Hurricanes in NBL Canada when Jones visited the Nova Scotia city for a coaching clinic. Even though Criswell was still playing basketball, he auditioned for the Roughriders’ bench boss and earned an invitation to a minicamp in Florida.
The Roughriders signed him May 30, but he has been a roster yo-yo ever since. His name appears on the CFL transactions wire seven times since that initial appearance, with a mixture of additions, deletions and a suspension.
He was signed again Aug. 17 and is set to get his chance Friday.
“It’s a task being patient, but I made the change (to football) and I knew it was going to take a lot of patience and perseverance, so that’s what I’ve been doing,” Criswell said. “Coach Jones stays on me every day just to stay focused and (saying) my time could be coming at any time. Look what happened.”
The Roughriders have put Leonard on the six-game injured list, so Criswell is poised to take his spot in Saskatchewan’s rotation along the defensive line.
Even though Leonard is tied with Corvey Irvin for the team lead with three sacks, Criswell doesn’t feel any pressure to produce in Leonard’s absence.
“There are no expectations,” Criswell said. “I’m just going out there free-minded. I’m replacing a big part of the defence, but I’m just trying to fill in and do my part.” Ese Mrabure feels the same way. The 23-year-old product of Mississauga, Ont., was on Saskatchewan’s roster for five straight games before missing its contest Aug. 13 against the Calgary Stampeders.
The D -lineman returned to the lineup for Saturday’s game in Hamilton and could start Friday’s game as the Roughriders try to balance the import ratio.
Unlike Criswell, Mrabure does feel some stress. He was a firstround pick of the B.C. Lions in the 2015 CFL draft and, after being cut by B.C. and signed by Saskatchewan at the tail end of training camp this season, he’s eager to live up to expectations.
“I didn’t feel like I really put out my best work last year, so how everything happened in training camp this year with B.C. and then getting my opportunity out here, there’s a tremendous amount of pressure,” Mrabure said.
“But as the weeks go by, I’m learning to really hone in and control that pressure and keep it from being a negative thing. I’m using it as a positive thing now.”