It’s not typical for a football player to quote a Chinese proverb, but then again Jon Cornish isn’t your typical football player.
The Calgary Stampeder running back is like a little bit like a Ferrari. Sleek, powerful, a little bit exotic and maybe sometimes kind of finicky.
Like a Ferrari, Cornish stands out in a crowd because he’s different and it’s being different which has helped make the New Westminster, B.C., native one of the best running backs in CFL history.
Take for instance the “move list” Cornish keeps. It’s a list of 10 moves he has compiled over the last few years.
“The move list is just a few words,” Cornish said Wednesday as the Stampeders held their first practise for Sunday’s 102 Grey Cup against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“Every one of those moves is very detailed. I spent the time researching and how to properly position my body, how to get my body into different positions, so I can get past a defender or manipulate other defenders to do things they don’t want to do.”
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“He’s learning how to meditate, learning how to do karate. Whatever it is, he’s learning how to be a different and better athlete. That’s what makes him so tough. That’s why his balance is so good and his mental game so tough. He just prepares differently than a lot of guys do.” – Stampeders QB Bo Levi Mitchell on his tailback Jon Cornish |
But why write it down?
Cornish treated the question like someone would a child asking why they must attend school.
“I’ll give you a Chinese proverb,” he said. “The strongest memory is no match for the faintest ink.
“That’s why I have them written down, so I don’t have to think about them. My game is so far removed from the thought process, it’s natural. I’m out there and just do it. A lot of people try to intervene in the thought process.”
Some players use weight training to make their body stronger. Cornish uses mediation to make his brain more nimble. The quicker his mind, the less he has to think about what he does.
“I realized that through mediation a lot of the stuff we do is not real,” he said.
“I’ve had the move list for about 2 ½ years. After I found it was effective I added a few extra moves. Now if you see me do a few different things on the field, it’s never a new move. It’s always stuff I have researched.”
The “move list” isn’t Cornish’s only idiosyncrasy.
At one time Cornish would stand on one foot when working at an off-season bank job or when cooking dinner at home. He believed it helped improved his balance.
Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell said Cornish isn’t like most players, but in a good way.
“Jon does what he does because he is a different person,” said Mitchell. “When I say that, I mean he’s not doing your normal preparation during the off-season.
“He’s learning how to meditate, learning how to do karate. Whatever it is, he’s learning how to be a different and better athlete. That’s what makes him so tough. That’s why his balance is so good and his mental game so tough. He just prepares differently than a lot of guys do.”
Linebacker Juwan Simpson said Cornish is “a lot more intelligent than the average football player.” That, combined with his eccentricities, have left some teammates scratching their heads in the past.
“For me he’s likeable but you have to be an open person to like him,” said the seven-year veteran. “You can’t be stuck in your ways because he is different.
“I think he’s a great team player. When he straps those pads on everything speaks for itself. I don’t think there’s too much you can say about anything.”
Last Cornish year was named the CFL’s most valuable player and top Canadian after rushing for 1,813 yards, the fourth most in league history.
Cornish missed nine games this season due to a concussion and knee injury but still led the CFL with 1,082 yards on 139 carries. He averaged 7.8 yards every time he touched the ball.
In last week’s West Division final against the Edmonton Eskimos Cornish took an innocent looking shovel pass, broke a couple of arm tackles, and rambled 78 yards for a touchdown. That was the beginning of the end to the Eskimos’ season.
B.C. Lions’ linebacker Solomon Elimimian is favoured to be named this year’s outstanding player at an awards banquet Thursday night.
Calgary’s Nik Lewis doesn’t understand why Cornish wasn’t nominated for MOP considering how much he did this year in so few games.
“Of course he should be the MOP,” said the outspoken Stampeder slotback.
“If we’re talking about the most outstanding playing in this league, averaging over 120 yards a game and doing what he does on a weekly basis when he touches the ball, I think it’s plain and simple. If he’s in a uniform, he’s the best player in this league.”
Cornish was a special teams player in 2008 when Calgary beat Montreal for the Grey Cup. In 2012 he was the West’s nominee for outstanding player when the Stampeders lost the championship game to the Toronto Argonauts.
Cornish looked to be heading to another Grey Cup last November but the Stampeders lost the West semifinal to Saskatchewan.
Last winter Cornish was back in Vancouver for the Best of BC Award, given to the person who best represented the province nationally or internationally.
Steve Nash, a two-time NBA most valuable player is a past award winner.
Cornish referred to Nash when explaining how important it would be for him to win the Grey Cup in the city where he was raised.
“He is one of the guys I grew up looking up too,” said Cornish. “He didn’t get a chance to win a championship.
“I know a lot of people define careers by championships. My career is probably good enough now I could retire . . . but that’s not what I want. For me this is entire last 18 months has been the build-up for this. To do that in front of my home town, I think it would be truly a wonderful experience.”
