Twenty Year Reflection: An Interview with National Champion Ryan Jones
Written by Liam T. Buchanan
Thumbnail Photo by CBC News
Ryan Jones (left) with teammate Jean-Michel Sylvain (right). Photo by CBC News
Ryan Jones is a Haligonian who was born and raised in Waterdown, Ontario, just outside of Hamilton. Today, he is a regional manager for Stryker, a surgical equipment manufacturer, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Before he decided to permanently settle in Halifax, he was a star quarterback for the Saint Mary’s University men’s varsity football team (1997-2001). Ryan sat down with me – albeit virtually – for a one-on-one interview to discuss the Huskies’ national victory in 2001 against Manitoba, as well as answer some other questions about playing football for SMU 20 years ago. During his tenure as quarterback, Jones completed 19 of 32 passes thrown for 290 yards, while completing 3 touchdown passes in the 2001 Vanier Cup against Manitoba; this ultimately earned him the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy as the game’s MVP.
Liam Buchanan: What interested you in playing football as a child?
Ryan Jones: “I got started with football when I was eight years old, and actually football wasn’t really on the radar for me as a kid. We had a local guy joining a league in our hometown, and he came to the school and did a talk for the kids regarding an enrollment registration form to take home to our parents. My brother and I were both very excited, and I was happy my parents registered me.”
L: Growing up in Ontario, had you ever visited the Maritimes before enrolling at Saint Mary’s?
R: “No, I actually had never been on an airplane before my recruiting trip to Saint Mary’s, so my first time was for my recruiting trip to Halifax. I came down for a weekend with one of my high school teammates who was being recruited at the same time. I fell in love with the city of Halifax and the school, and over the weekend I quickly decided Saint Mary’s was going to be my future home and the place where I was going to play university football.”
L: What was the culture and atmosphere like in the locker room, and how did your Coach contribute to this?
R: “I was actually originally recruited by Larry Uteck, so my first year was under Larry, and at that point, Larry had been diagnosed with ALS but had chosen to complete that season; we didn’t know until the end of the season that he had Lou Gehrig’s disease. Larry was the coach my first year and then Blake Nill came in the second year, and Larry took over as Athletic Director. Regarding the culture, everyone challenged each other, and Coach Nill didn’t put up with laziness, poor attitude, or lack of effort. You really had to put your best foot forward, so the culture was one of accountability to your teammates and your coaches, as well as the expectation of working hard. Also, extensive preparation was an expectation – the coaches spent a lot of time preparing the players, and it was really their expectation that you put in a lot of preparation and execute it on game day. It was a great atmosphere for any athlete coming into the program.”
L: The quarterback position is arguably the most important one in football, and they embody leadership. Tell me about the qualities you possess that allowed you to flourish as a quarterback, both as an athlete and as a leader.
R: “I would agree that it is a difficult position because you have to know what everyone is doing on the field. When you’re a position player, you can kind of get away with just knowing what your position is doing, but as a quarterback you need to know what everyone’s doing and make sure everyone’s on the same page. In terms of leadership, I don’t think I was ever a vocal type of leader and outspoken. I tried to lead by example – if I was going to work hard in the gym, I would hope that would rub off on my teammates. As a leader, you have to hold people accountable, and when they’re making mistakes, you have to hold them accountable. You can’t do that if you don’t walk the walk yourself. I also knew that I wasn’t the greatest athlete on the team, so my job was to put the ball in the hands of the true athletes on the team.”
L: What comes to your mind when you think of your favourite memory of the 2001 Vanier Cup victory?
R: “We were expected to win the year prior, and we lost, and it was a massive disappointment. Going into 2001, there was a tremendous amount of pressure, especially on us fifth-year players. I don’t want to say it wasn’t enjoyable, but the actual moment we won the Cup and the zeros were on the scoreboard; that was my favourite moment. I remember when we won and they began to play “We Are The Champions” there was this sense of relief, and I think that is my favourite memory.”
Saint Mary’s Huskies celebrate their 2001 Vanier Cup victory with athletic director Larry Uteck (centre) after defeating the Manitoba Bisons 42-16. Photo by CBC News
L: What was the atmosphere with the 19,000 fans like?
R: When we won, I can recall taking the trophy with a bunch of fifth-year players to Larry Uteck. By that time, his ALS had progressed significantly, and we did this because he had a huge part in the development of the program and trailblazing SMU football and putting it on the map. The atmosphere of doing that with having family around, and celebrating with friends and family was great.”
L: What’s it like driving on Larry Uteck Boulevard nowadays? Do you ever think of the program and Larry while you drive on it?
R: “It’s funny you say that because I drive on it almost daily. It’s almost like you don’t think about it now, but there are times I see the sign and it dawns on me that this is the individual that brought me to Halifax. He left such an impact, and it is ironic that he’s a part of the city’s infrastructure, and here I am driving on the street and seeing his name daily.”
L: In your university career, were concussions taken seriously, or were coaches and physicians more lenient with their players after they experienced a large hit to the head?
R: “I would say that coaches were lenient with concussions 20 years ago. We did not know enough about the long-term effects of them; the expectation was you get your bell rung and you get right back into the game. Luckily, I did not have many concussions. That was the culture back then but now it has changed, and I am happy to see that this is the case, seeing penalties for targeting players and using your head as a weapon. It was definitely a different world back then.”
L: What are your thoughts on COVID and sports? Do you think students should be playing despite the recent uptick in cases across Nova Scotia?
R: “I think right now we need to be as careful as we can. We are unfortunately not where we want to be with vaccinations, and it is a great risk to the public, especially with the new variants. I would say that if we do have sports in place, we need to be very careful. This third wave is presenting a lot of challenges, and we need to make much better progress with our vaccinations to make sure we are in a better position from a cases standpoint.”
L: What advice do you have for post-secondary varsity athletes regarding COVID?
R: “With COVID, we have to follow our public health mandates. It is an awful situation because you go to these universities and leave home to play sports and then you can’t. All I can say is that you must be patient, and this will be behind us at some point, and hopefully, by then there’s some eligibility in some of these individual careers. Better yourself as a student and athlete; there’s no excuse not to be in the best physical shape in this time as an athlete. It is certainly not fun because you want to be competing with your fellow athletes, but we have to get through this, and it will be better on the other side.”
My time spent chatting with Ryan was a great experience. Undoubtedly one of Saint Mary’s most successful student-athletes, who led SMU to a 42-16 Vanier Cup victory in 2001 over the Manitoba Bisons, Ryan Jones was able to champion his leadership skills in the locker room to keep his teammates accountable while simultaneously performing elegantly on the gridiron. And for that, he shall forever be cemented as a legendary Huskies football player. The staff at the Journal wish him the best!