Keeping up with the Joneses

Huskies backfield bolstered by brother tandem

By MONTY MOSHER Sports Reporter, The Chronicle Herald

September 1, 2009

AUS FOOTBALL defences had better get used to keeping up with the Joneses.

Brothers Tristan and Devon Jones of Edmonton — the sons of former CFL star running back Milson Jones — are settling into the Saint Mary’s Huskies backfield and threatening to make one of the top run offences in the CIS even better.

Both former junior teammates and backfield partners with the Edmonton Wildcats, Devon, 23, arrived at Saint Mary’s last year and had 507 yards and seven touchdowns in five games, including a 251-yard game at Acadia.

Tristan, a former Canadian junior player of the year, took a few more turns on his route to Halifax.

Once an NAIA running back and punter at Dickinson State in North Dakota, he briefly joined the Laval Rouge et Or in training camp last year before departing with a foot injury and looking for another opportunity. With a handful of ex-Wildcats at Saint Mary’s, along with his younger brother, the 24-year-old Tristan joined the Huskies last winter in time for off-season workouts.

"I took a year off and let the body heal a little bit," said Tristan, who ran for 1,903 yards and 25 touchdowns, both still CJFL records, for Edmonton in 2006. "I came out to visit these guys and there are five or six guys I used to play with in Edmonton that are on the team and they made it tough to turn down."

It’s a rare acquisition in CIS football that reverberates from coast-to-coast, but Tristan’s decision to come east to reunite with his brother got tongues wagging.

Devon, who spent a red-shirt year at Dickinson State before returning to Canada, says his brother is as good as the hype surrounding him and, with Truro’s Craig Leger providing even more depth at the running back position, the Huskies will be tough to wrangle on the ground.

"As a tandem we are damn good and with Craig Leger in the mix we are the best running back combo in Canada, I will go out and say that right now," Devon said. "We blew out the rest of the country by 600 some yards (last year) and this year we’re looking to do even more."

Tristan, who is labouring with a hamstring strain early in camp, said he won’t feel pressure to be a superstar.

"It’s just a football game," he said. "I’ve had some success. I’ve been very blessed that way and hopefully we can make some more things happen."

The brothers are close friends, but they also have to compete with each other and Leger for carries. Neither is particularly concerned about playing time.

"I think they are planning on cycling all three of us, which I tend to like," said Tristan. "It mixes defences up a little bit. You don’t get used to one guy. You’ve always got fresh legs.

"I’d rather have 15 good carries in a game than 30 and be tired for some of them. I’d rather give them to somebody else," he added.

Devon’s friends wondered why he’d potentially harm his own prospects by urging his brother to join the SMU backfield. But he said Tristan can only make the team better.

"Everybody knows we like to rotate backs around here so why not bring in the best back to compliment you," said Devon. "I don’t think it’s a competition with me, Tristan or Craig. I think it’s more of an accent."

The brothers are different players between the lines. Devon, at five-foot-10 and 230 pounds, is a crasher while the five-foot-11, 210-pound Tristan is a slasher with the kind of elusiveness coaches can’t teach.

"Devon is more of the power guy," said Tristan. "He’ll hit you right in the mouth and make you think twice about hitting him the next time. I’m more of a scat back. I like to use my eyes to run. I’ll try to get around you before I hit you."

Tristan and Devon spend their summers in Edmonton with their mother.

Milson Jones makes his home in Winnipeg. He had a rough life after football, including some scrapes with the law, but has put that in the past.

Devon and Tristan talk regularly to their father and know he’s interested in their football careers. He hopes to make it to a game in Halifax this fall if his work schedule allows.

Devon said his father went to the reunion of his 1989 Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders team in Regina this summer and all he did was talk about his boys joining up with the Huskies.

"I think pride is the fitting word," said Devon.

The AUS season opens Sept. 12 with the Huskies at St. Francis Xavier and Mount Allison at Acadia.