Potent offense likely stronger
Addition of Jones adds another strong weapon to NAL’S top attack
Atop the National Arena League in virtually every offensive statistical category, the Albany Empire should be even more robust the second half of the regular season.
The Empire’s game Saturday night against the Jacksonville Sharks, completing Albany’s two-game Florida road trip, will be their first with wide receiver Malachi Jones. A two-time allarena Football League firstteam selection when Albany played in that league, Jones signed a contract last week to play with the new edition of the Empire (4-0), who lead the NAL in scoring (69.0 points per game) as well as passing (266.3), rushing (42.3) and total (308.5) yards.
“He might find a way to get the ball here and there,” Albany coach Tom Menas said tonguein-cheek about the 2019 AFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Jones will be reunited with quarterback Tommy Grady, a three-time AFL Most Valuable Player, and will have the NAL’S current top two receivers, Darius Prince and Phillip Barnett, alongside. Jones arrived Tuesday in Florida to practice with his teammates.
“It’s funny,” he said Friday by phone from Jacksonville. “The first couple of reps, your heart’s pumping fast, you feel like you’re a little out of breath. Once you get going and get a feel for the motion again and understanding your depth and understanding coverages, it all comes back to you. I’ve been lucky enough to play with the same quarterback for the last three years as far as my arena time, and the plays are pretty much the same.”
After helping the Empire to the 2019 AFL championship, Jones signed a contract with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, which went on hiatus in 2020 because of COVID -19. The CFL is back this season, starting nearly two months later with a shortened schedule.
Jones, who has been working as a brand ambassador for athletic apparel retailer Lululemon, decided not to return to the Alouettes.
“If there’s one thing that
COVID has taught me over the last year and a half, it’s that there is life after football,” he said. “That’s something most athletes in general struggle with, not knowing your next step. I was fortunate enough to work with Lululemon, which started off as a job to get some money in my pocket and then eventually get back to playing ball has blossomed into something I could never imagine.
“With the uncertainty of COVID and how the sports world is at the moment, I had to make a decision that was best for me and my family, and for myself financially, having job stability and things like that. It’s no secret that everybody in the CFL had to take pay cuts, and it’s already a lot of money taken out with the exchange rates. It was a hard decision because I had full intentions of retiring in the CFL and making an impact, but at the end of the day, God had a different plan for me. That’s what led to this opportunity to be able to come back and play.”
According to Menas, Jones has blended in smoothly with Prince, who leads the NAL with 40 catches and 17 touchdowns, and Barnett, tied for second in both categories with 31 receptions and 10 scores.
“To watch them work together at practice, you think one might have a preference over one position,” Menas said. “They’re interchanging, taking turns at spots. They’re showing what we had hoped for all along, that when you have real pros, they behave like real pros. These three are very unselfish, goal-oriented players.”
“I first met Prince in 2017 when the NAL first started,” Jones said. “He was the No. 1 receiver for the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, and I was the No. 1 for the High Country Grizzlies. I always respected his game. He was at the top of the league in all categories in 2017. We kept in touch, and we respected each other’s game and respected each other as people, and we always joked about possibly teaming up. It’s crazy how things play out.
“The three of us, we don’t care who gets the ball. We all know we can play, we all have that playmaking capability, so it’s just a matter of when your number is called, go make a play. I know the three of us just want to win. I could have five touchdowns in a game or one touchdown in a game, it doesn’t make a difference as long as we win. That’s something I appreciate from those two especially. We’re all like-minded. We want the best for the team, we want to put the best product on the field and make this championship run.”