Skip to content

Lions' Jennings still learning on the job at age 24

REUTERS/Ben Nelms

In his first 15 starts, Jonathon Jennings illustrated why he's the CFL's youngest No. 1 quarterback.

Over the marathon that is the season, function counts as much as form, as the 24-year-old budding B.C. Lions star is learning in his sophomore season. Jennings has that classic skill set suited to the three-down league - the arm, the quick feet, and the capacity to go "off menu" by scrambling. That justifies the excitement around the Ohio native, whose Lions (5-3) meet the Ottawa RedBlacks (4-3-1) on Thursday in a matchup of high-end offences.

Of course, there's going off menu, and there are the staple items. Jennings is learning how much hidden value just moving the chains has in response to his team giving up a score.

"Understanding change of momentum with small things has been huge for me," Jennings said Wednesday. "I have always been pretty good at a change of momentum through larger-scale things, big plays. Sometimes you just need to get a first down. Check down to your (running) backs, let them make plays for you. Little things like that, I'm still learning and getting better at that."

"It's a lot different (in the CFL) because two-and-outs happen very quickly," Jennings, who played at Saginaw Valley State, added. "A two-and-out can be a run play and a batted ball. Down there (in the U.S., with four downs) you can hand off the ball and stretch it out. Here you have to extend the momentum and make each play count.

"You have to trust the guys. It's a team game, you can't do it all by yourself."

Growing pains

Jennings, who became the Lions' starter late last season after veteran Travis Lulay sustained a knee injury, is third in passing yards (2,201) and touchdown passes (11, tied with Montreal's Kevin Glenn). His 96.6 QB rating, however, is only seventh in a league where the passing phase has become heavily tilted toward offence, thanks to a crackdown on illegal contact and assistant coaches having the latitude to watch replays on a tablet to search for a possible coach's challenge.

Between Jennings and his receivers, and return specialist Chris Rainey, the Lions have home-run threats up and down the lineup. But the small stuff was lacking last week, when they were blown out 37-9 by the Calgary Stampeders, who limited Jennings to a 10-of-22, 153-yard night.

Quarterbacks want to have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Lulay says that impulse isn't tied to age. It's just a matter of accepting that only so much can be controlled.

"As quarterbacks, if the offence is stalling, we put that on our shoulders," said Lulay, 32, a former CFL Most Outstanding Player who is mentoring Jennings after having serious injuries three seasons in a row. "I just try to release some of that burden from him. It's easier when I am not the guy playing. Sometimes I'm fighting that when I'm playing, to overcome the shortcomings on offence. But it's just about staying the course, doing what you've done to be successful. We talk openly - 'Hey JJ, you need to throw the football here in this situation.' Or say a block got missed - 'Jon, don't freak out, there was nothing you could have done on that play.' You just have to find a way, in those moments, to stay plugged in and do your job and not think."

"It's something that's learned," Lulay added. "It goes against human nature. Your instinct is to want to do more. And all of a sudden you are flushing out of the pocket because you don't trust the guys blocking and you're not on time throwing the ball, and it's completed three yards shorter, and you end up kicking a field goal instead of moving the chains (with a first down). You just have to let go of that anxiety."

Learning from mistakes

The CFL season, of course, doesn't really start until September, but B.C.'s two recent losses to Calgary will be convenient points of reference for a few weeks yet. The first was a 44-41 overtime game in which Jennings was intercepted twice in the late stages. The first interception, a late throw on an out route with less than 1:40 on the clock, gave Calgary a short field for its game-tying drive. The second ended the game.

"It was tough, it happened very fast," Jennings said. "We thought we had it in pretty good control, that goes to show that in the CFL no lead is safe. You have to make sure you keep playing."

Typically, someone as young as Jennings, who was a college senior in 2013, being a starter is a harbinger of big things. Bo Levi Mitchell was 24 when he became the guy in Calgary. At 24, Ricky Ray led Edmonton to a Grey Cup in 2003. Other luminaries of recent vintage - Henry Burris, Anthony Calvillo, Dave Dickenson - were understudies or part-timers at that age.

"This year there's a lot more pressure," Jennings said. "Last year no one knew of me, I just came in off the bench and there wasn't much pressure. There are higher expectations, which I have also put on myself as well. I have a lot more knowledge on the game but I am still not an expert on it."

Jennings has also had to adapt without veteran slotback Nick Moore, who went down with an ACL tear on July 21. Moore was one of Jennings' early role models during their youth in Westerville, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.

"He was doing such a great job for us, making huge plays and doing the little things - blocking downfield, making certain catches," Jennings said. "It was tough."

One of Jennings' hobbies in his formative years was drumming - "did it in church, did it in school, did it in jazz band." There isn't time for that as full-time pro player, but he sees the parallel between being behind a kit and behind centre.

"There's being artistic, I guess you can say, being creative. And just improvising."

Each also involves keeping the sticks moving. When Jennings and the Lions do that, they're scarily good.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox