Christian Covington is all about focusing on the little details. How else does one carve out a decade-long career in football spanning both sides of the border? As the defensive lineman prepares for year two with his hometown Lions, he has also picked up a passion for photography having registered for online courses at Cornell University. Like the game of football and its nuances for technical skills at his position, photography also requires a certain dedication to art.
“I love everything about it. The documentary genre, portraits, all of it,” said Covington following a workout with Nathan Rourke at the Lions’ facility this week.
“I’ve been going crazy with black-and-white shadowing. Those really tell a story. The contrast against light is fascinating to me.”
Covington’s football story is also a fascinating one. When it comes to focusing on the task at hand, he’s all about winning over individual accolades. The Vancouver College product carved out a nine-season NFL career, seeing action in over 100 games across stints in Houston, Dallas, Cincinnati and the Los Angeles Chargers.
He decided to come home to the Lions last March, who had held his rights since selecting him in the 2015 CFL Draft, just days after the Texans made him a sixth-round pick in the NFL.
He wound up having a much longer career down south than your average sixth-round pick. Despite his longevity in the NFL, Covington still has the motivation to play several more years after his 2024 campaign came with a few learning lessons. Despite the adjustment, he finished second in the squad with six sacks while suiting up in every game.
“It was an adjustment, just because of the very aspect of me never playing the Canadian game in my entire life,” recalls Covington of moving back up north.
“There are different nuances that you have to get used to, different rule changes, different things to get adjusted to that come with the Canadian game like being a yard off the ball and getting timing down as a defensive lineman.”
A major highlight of his maiden CFL season was the first career sack in a week two victory over Calgary. The icing on the cake having his Dad Grover, a four-time CFL All-Star and Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee following a stellar career with Hamilton, in the stands.
“The only regret is it happened too late in the game. But I guess I saved it for a good time in the fourth quarter,” laughs Covington.
“It was amazing just knowing that I wanted to do something for him, knowing that he was there. And obviously, it was a home opener for the season. The stadium was electric. We all wanted to win so badly. I’ve never been about accolades. Winning is the priority, so if it helps us secure a win like it did that night, it’s even more special.
And then to top it off, I did his dance as a tribute. The ‘Grover’ was something I’d been dreaming about doing in Canada for a long time. My Dad has been a constant influence throughout my life since I started playing football at age five. He and my mom have always been there for me.”
Winning is something Covington and the Lions are looking to do a lot more of in 2025. A year that began with sky-high expectations that came with hosting the Grey Cup and subsequent returns of both Rourke and Mathieu Betts quickly turned into a reminder that football can be a cruel game with no guarantees. That’s what will be used as fuel and motivation this season and beyond.
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“It’s about looking back and learning from the mistakes from being on that roller coaster as a team, whether that starts in the meeting room, on the practice field, in film study or definitely during game time. What can I do to step up as a vocal leader, now that I have a year under my belt on this team,” explained Covington.
“Highs and lows in football don’t start on game day. They start in the offseason. We have to come together to humble ourselves and figure out what went wrong. Football mistakes are going to happen but mistakes off the field, those are the ones you can correct.”
With the likes of Covington, Betts, Tibo Debaillie, Marcus Moore, Nathan Cherry and Sione Tehuma back in the fold combined with a solid free agent addition in DeWayne Hendrix, this defensive line will be counted on to set the tone. Veteran and master tactician Randy Melvin is back coaching this unit, which will motivate even a veteran like Covington to show well from day one of training camp.
“It’s going to look like almost a brand-new team, minus a few pieces here or there. Because of that, there is a sense of proving yourself because nothing is guaranteed,” explained Covington.
“I always treat it like I’m interviewing for my job every day. Because of that, there’s an urgency but after a while, it’s a certain level of confidence knowing that I’ve played this game for a long time.”
No different than perfecting his craft behind the camera. It’s about bettering yourself every day with every shot.
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com