Keon Raymond figures it’s payback time.

Not on the football field, mind you, although the Calgary Stampeders hybrid linebacker/defensive back seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder this season, making life miserable for opposing quarterbacks and receivers.

Instead, Raymond’s doing his payback duty on the home front.

You see, when Raymond was going to school at Middle Tennessee State University a few years ago, chasing his dream of being a professional football player, his young wife Bianca was taking care their young son, Keon Jr., and working as a desk clerk at a local hotel to put food on the table.

Fast forward to 2010; for the first time, Raymond has his family with him in Calgary during the Canadian Football League season – Bianca along with sons Keon Jr., 7, DaShaun, 5, and Ramael, 3, with child No. 4 due in early October (“We’re praying for a girl,” said Bianca with a laugh) – and while Raymond toils in his third season with the Stamps, Bianca is considering her own dream: to get her psychology degree and open her own business.

And her husband will do everything he can to support her.

“No doubt,” he vowed, after Tuesday’s practice at McMahon Stadium. “That’s what a family does; we can always count on one another. And it’s what I try to teach my boys – you always have each other’s back as a family, no matter when, no matter what. It wasn’t just for richer or poorer, sickness and in health – it was for everything. That’s the vow I made to her.”

For now, the focus is on football and family, and being able to combine the two this season has been a blessing for the Raymonds. In the past, their in-season communication was limited to daily Skype conversations as Bianca and the kids stayed back in Murfreesboro, Tenn., but the prospect of a third season apart was too tough to take.

“The boys are getting older, and it was kind of rough on them last year when he left to come here,” said Bianca. “There were a lot of tears. We did the Skype chats, but I think we made the decision together to just move here as a family. God led us here; there were a lot of obstacles (mostly of the paperwork variety) that came up, but it seemed like when it was time to move, everything fell into place. It was fate.”

Prior to the season, the Raymonds found a rental home in northwest Calgary, and now Keon Jr. and DaShaun are registered for school; the plan is for the family to spend the school year in Calgary, and then another decision will be made prior to next season – just like it is with every pro football player.

“We make sacrifices,” said Bianca. “We’ve been doing this for years, and we always make it work. Whatever happens, happens.”

Keon and Bianca met in their hometown of St. Louis after their senior year in high school; Keon had dropped in at his aunt’s beauty salon, knowing full well there would be some dating prospects. And it just so happened Bianca was getting her hair done. He asked for her number, and the two never looked back.

“The one thing I’ve always admired about Keon is that when I met him, he had a goal,” said Bianca. “He’s always been very determined to reach it. He’s been in a lot of different positions where he’s been set back and not able to play where he wants to. But just being out here, being able to play his sport, is the most important thing for Keon.”

For now, everything seems right; Bianca is positively glowing in pregnancy; the boys are getting a chance to watch their dad perform in person, and Keon himself is playing solid football with 25 tackles (second best on the team) and two interceptions.

“I’ll tell you what; it’s awesome,” he said. “The first two years, not having them up here was kind of stressful for me, worrying about them back home in Tennessee. And it’s definitely helped my play out a lot. I might have a bad day at practice, but to come home and have my three boys jump on me, I’m no longer the football player; I’m just Dad. And it’s heartwarming.

“That presence is important; and having three boys, I feel like they need my presence in their life. Missing six months of my boys’ life (per year)? That’s too much. Skype is cool. But being there in person is a lot better.”