Ayers and Jones key in Winnipeg Blue Bombers victory over Elks in place of Wilson, Bighill

Michael Ayers’ first career start in the Canadian Football League came out of the blue. Fitting, given his first chance in the professional ranks came in a similar fashion.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ rookie linebacker found out minutes before the kickoff of Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Elks he would be starting on the weak-side in place of Kyrie Wilson, who was expected to return after missing six contests with a shoulder injury before suffering an undisclosed injury in warmups.

Suddenly, Ayers, who has primarily played on special teams this season, was being refreshed on the defensive game plan by co-ordinator Jordan Younger and preparing to slow down Elks’ dual-threat quarterback Tre Ford.

“I was kind of confused on what was going on, and I found out Kyrie was down… so (Younger) was like, ‘Hey, you got to go,’ so I was just ready for the time to go,” said Ayers.

The spotlight in a big game proved not too bright for the 25-year-old, as he recorded four defensive tackles, two more on special teams, and a leaping interception in the fourth quarter of the Bombers’ 27-14 victory.

Ayers’ takeaway, which he made in a tie game and set up the Bombers’ offence to take a 17-10 lead, came on a perplexing throw by Ford that was meant for offensive lineman Jakub Szott.

Ayers happily accepted the gift, but even he was surprised the ball found him.

“A little bit. I was just trying to play coverage, hoping I was in the right spot at the right time. Made a play,” said Ayers after Tuesday’s practice at Princess Auto Stadium, where the Bombers (8-6) will host the Elks (5-9) in the second half of a home-and-home on Friday (7 p.m.).

Ayers returned the ball 17 yards before being tripped up by Ford, which head coach Mike O’Shea said the young linebacker was razzed for once he got to the sidelines.

“He kind of got laughed at for being tackled,” O’Shea said.

“He’s fast. He’s a terrific athlete, that’s what probably distinguished him in camp because he’s just a very gifted athlete, a very likeable character, a good fit for us and then it’s just a matter of accumulating football IQ and CFL IQ and making good when he got his opportunity— and he did.”

The opportunity is exactly what Ayers left the game grateful for, not his big play. The Columbus, Ohio product arrived from Ashland University — an NCAA Division 2 program about an hour and a half away from where he grew up — which he was drawn to because of the school’s success and a strong culture that was instilled by a longtime coach— sound familiar?

So, when the Bombers, who had his negotiation rights, came calling in February, Ayers was quickly sold on Winnipeg as a prime destination to begin his career, despite not knowing anything about the club or the CFL.

It was Ashland head coach Doug Geiser who pitched Ayers on the team.

“He was up here for a little I believe and knows a lot of people, has a lot of connections, so he knew a whole lot — he gave me a whole rundown about it,” said Ayers. “That it’s a great program. He was like, ‘You got a Hall of Fame head coach, you got Hall of Fame players on the team, been to the Grey Cup (four) times in the last four years,’ so, he’s like, ‘You’re going into the best team in Canada,’ so I was excited.”

“It’s been everything I ever wanted,” he said. “Everybody just wants a chance to play and contribute to a team and have that family environment because there’s nothing like it in sports where you have a group of men in the locker room that just care about each other, play for one another and go through those battles and grind since camp. It’s been a grind, and you see the success from that.”

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Yet Ayers wasn’t even the best linebacker on the field for the Bombers on this day.

That moniker went to third-year pro Tony Jones, who filled the stat sheet with six defensive tackles, one sack, one interception, a fumble recovery and a pass knockdown for good measure in place of Adam Bighill.

“It’s fun anytime you get to step on the football field,” said Jones, who started at weak-side linebacker during Wilson’s absence. “Whenever you get that chance to be out there at the pro level, it’s always fun. And then on top of that, it’s just icing on the cake when you’re out there making the plays that come to you— basically, making your layups that come to you— so once all twelve of us are making our layups, man, we’ll be a hard team to beat.”

Jones’ first-quarter interception was the play of the day as he dove to catch a ball that had deflected off a helmet. The high-effort play exemplified the type of player he has become affectionally known for by teammates and coaches.

“We always talk about the free crumbs,” said Younger. “Every football game there’s free crumbs all out over the plate, and it mostly takes effort and awareness. So, great effort — there was no hesitation in his transitioning from his job to going to play the ball in the air and then diving under it to make the play. It was a special football play — professional football play.”

It was equally a coming-out party for Jones as a member of the Blue and Gold as it was a revenge game for the former Texas Tech Red Raider.

Before the season, Jones, who started his career in Edmonton, was led to believe that he was in line for a full-time role as a starter by now-former head coach Chris Jones and interim general manager Geroy Simon.

Jones was cut at the end of training camp. A week later, the Bombers added him to their practice roster.

“Most definitely. I got my little revenge on Chris Jones in the Hamilton game,” Jones said. “And then this game, against all my guys over there in Edmonton, felt really good. I was going into the game, I knew I was going to be fired up, amped up, but at the same time, it was a controlled aggression.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

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Joshua Frey-Sam
Reporter

Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He’s reported primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports and writes a weekly real estate feature for the business section. Read more about Josh.

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