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Pretty cool Tony Criswell article. Congrats to him
Posted on: August 26, 2016 at 16:10:53 CT
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http://leaderpost.com/sports/football/cfl/saskatchewan-roughriders/saskatchewan-roughriders-were-forward-thinkers-when-it-came-to-tony-criswell
Criswell played basketball in college and in the National Basketball League of Canada before Jones got ahold of him and turned the 6-foot-9, 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 mini-camp 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.”
Criswell played basketball in college and in the National Basketball League of Canada before Jones got ahold of him and turned the 6-foot-9, 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 mini-camp 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.”
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Pretty cool Tony Criswell article. Congrats to him - FIJItiger MU - 8/26 16:10:53