ELON, N.C. -- Former Elon Phoenix football standouts Joshua Jones and Scott Riddle have signed contracts to play professional football.  Jones has inked a deal with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars while Riddle heads north to play for the CFL's Montreal Alouettes.

Jones is the second member of this year's senior class to sign a contract with an NFL program - offensive lineman Rodney Austin signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions.

Jones, a linebacker, was a fourth-team member of the Phil Steele FCS All-America team following a 2011 season in which he led the team with 112 tackles.  His 17.0 tackles for a loss tied for the most in the SoCon while his 4.0 sacks led the maroon and gold.  Jones recorded 11 or more tackles in seven games this season, including each of his last five outings.  The all-league standout earned one league defensive player of the week award and was selected as the SoCon's Defensive Player of the Month for November this year.  In Elon's victory at Furman, Jones sealed the win when he returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown.  He finished his career as Elon’s fifth-leading tackler in program history with 343.

Riddle, a member of the Phoenix football team from 2007-10, graduated as the holder of 41 NCAA, Southern Conference or Elon records. His 13,264 passing yards are the most ever by a SoCon quarterback and the fifth-highest total ever amassed by a quarterback at the Football Championship Subdivision level. Riddle is the only quarterback in the history of the SoCon to lead the league in passing for four consecutive seasons.  As a freshman, Riddle collected National Freshman of the Year honors from both College Sporting News and CollegeSportsReport.com while also earning the league’s freshman of the year from both the coaches and media. That season, Riddle passed for a SoCon-record 3,817 yards and 31 touchdowns.  Over the course of his career with the Phoenix, Riddle posted three 400-plus yard passing games, including a SoCon-record 534-yard performance at Furman in 2007. Among the other league records the strong-armed Riddle holds are most completions in a season (346 in 2007), most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (22) and most consecutive pass attempts without an interception (218).