MontrealAlouettes.com
by Steve Lyberopoulos
MONTREAL – QB Jonathan Crompton may be a fresh face on the Alouettes roster, but fans should expect to get a look at the team’s new #18 sooner rather than later.
Head coach Tom Higgins, a longtime proponent of employing a multiple-QB system, has stated that he expects and prepares all three of his pivots to see action in a given game, if the circumstances call for it. It hasn’t taken Crompton long to move up in the ranks as he was listed as the #2 QB behind Alex Brink on Week 8’s lineup card, leapfrogging Tanner Marsh. If the coach is to be taken to his word — and there is no reason he shouldn’t be, given his history of splitting time between QBs Jason Maas and Ricky Ray when heading the Eskimos — fans could get a fresh look at the team’s new #18 as soon as Friday night in Winnipeg (8:30 PM, TSN, RDS, TSN Radio 690, 98,5 fm).
“We have three quarterbacks. Last week, our plan was to give some reps to Jonathan Crompton, but Alex Brink had such a good first half, that we didn’t want to pull him from the game,” explained Higgins. “We want to give our second QB some playing time and make sure he gets meaningful reps.”
As the aforementioned second QB, Crompton has shared first-team reps with veteran Alex Brink this week in practice, paving the way for him to potentially make his Alouettes debut at Investors Group Field on Friday.
Signed to a three-year contract this past July 15th, the 27-year old Asheville, NC native — located squarely in between GM Jim Popp’s Elkin, NC hometown to the east and Crompton’s University of Tennessee alma mater in Knoxville, TN to the west — boasts a tantalizing 6’4″, 225 lb. frame and enough potential that four NFL teams (San Diego Chargers, New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers & Washington Redskins) brought him into their fold.
A 5th round draft pick by the Chargers in 2010, Crompton made his way to the CFL last season via Edmonton, coming on in relief over 7 appearances. Ironically, he saw the most action of the campaign against the Alouettes, gunslinging his way to 3 TDs and 3 INTs while completing 13 of 26 passes for 204 yards in a game Montreal handily won 47-24. Slated to make his first CFL start against the team that gave him a call 10 days before his 27th birthday a few weeks ago, he wound up taking a seat when de-facto QB Mike Reilly got the late green light to return from injury. Crompton made some noise later on in the game, tasked with starting the second half once the score got out of hand.
Call him a rookie or call him a sophomore, we caught up with Crompton before he boarded his Prairies-bound flight last week to get the scoop on his arrival to the team.
On being an unknown quantity in the CFL and what to expect from his play.
Really, my goal is just to go out there and try to make consistent plays. That’s any quarterback’s goal. We go out there and try to extend the play. The biggest thing is to play smart. I feel like I’m a pretty intelligent QB. Bottom line: go out there, play smart, and have fun with your teammates.
On the biggest differences between playing for the Eskimos last year and the Alouettes this year.
I don’t know how to speak French [laughs]. I don’t know how! And the funny thing is, I have relatives who’ve lived here for 44 years and I still don’t know how to speak French. A lot of my relatives speak French, but not me. I need to, I really do. It’s so hard to learn!
| JONATHAN CROMPTON: CAREER STATS |
|||||||
| Year | Team | Att | Com | % | Yds | TDs | INTs |
| 2006 | SEC – Tennessee | 66 | 31 | 47% | 401 | 4 | 2 |
| 2007 | SEC – Tennessee | 12 | 7 | 58% | 97 | 1 | 2 |
| 2008 | SEC – Tennessee | 167 | 86 | 52% | 889 | 4 | 5 |
| 2009 | SEC – Tennessee | 384 | 224 | 58% | 2,800 | 27 | 13 |
| 2013 | CFL – Edmonton | 58 | 30 | 52% | 451 | 5 | 5 |
| 2014 | CFL – Alouettes | – | – | – | – | – | – |
On the challenge of joining the practice squad mid-season and the dynamic with quarterbacks Troy Smith, Alex Brink, and Tanner Marsh.
We have a good group of guys in our room, we enjoy each others’ company. We go in there and we all have one collective goal: trying to win ballgames. So, we go in there, we study with each other, and we push it each other. And it helps that when you leave the office, you leave the office; we go and grab a bite to eat together. I think we have a good group in our room.
On working with new quarterbacks coach Jeff Garcia.
It’s been fun, he obviously has a lot of experience having been a professional player for 18 years. He knows what he’s talking about with a lot of things. I’ve been trying to pick his brain and pick up anything I can learn. One thing about me is that I like to try and learn from everybody. This is what we do for a living and you always have to be learning.
