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TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

Behind Enemy Lines: Christian Jones

By ZACH SHAW

Daily Sports Editor

In
the
Michigan
football

team’s
ugly
10-9
win
over

Northwestern on Nov. 8, 2014,
Wildcats wide receiver Christian
Jones remembers cringing on the
sideline. On the bench with a knee
inury, Jones was forced to sit out
all of Northwestern’s 2014 season,
in which it went 5-7. Even after
rehab, Jones was sidelined even
longer because of a second knee
surgery.

This fall, Jones has seen several

first-year players rise to help lead
the now 13th-ranked Wildcats. No.
18 Michigan hosts Northwestern,
also a resurgent program, on
Saturday
anticipating
another

close — though likely less sloppy
— battle.

Jones sat down with the Daily

at Big Ten Media Days in August
to discuss rehab, a new offense,
playing with a chip on his shoulder
and sloppy competitions against
Michigan in the past.

The Michigan Daily: Has your

role changed since you were last
a part of the
offense?

Christian

Jones:
Possibly,
but I’m here
to help the
team however I can. Ideally, I
never want to step off that field
and want to be a part of every play
and every game, but I know that
can change, and I’m OK with that
if it helps the team win. I want to
do whatever I can to help. That
might be extra reps, that might
be more time on the bench —
whatever it is, I’m ready.

TMD: How did the team

approach the summer after such
a disappointing season? How did
you help lead the team while still
rehabbing for a second time?

CJ: Lots of tape. Our coach

came to us all and told us our team
needs to better, and he wants us
to do better by having a better
culture and have more of a sense
of accountability, and a lot of that
came from watching tape and
seeing where we can improve.
I was there to help with that.
Whatever I did to get myself back
I did on the side, but I was there to
get the team back to the standard
we wanted to be at.

TMD:
You
have
a
new

quarterback this season. As a

receiver, what traits are you
looking for in your quarterback?

CJ: When I think of the best

quarterbacks I’ve had, confidence
is a must, but you can’t be so
confident that you know your
pass was right and (the receivers)
messed it up. You have to be
humble enough to ask questions,
‘How do you want this throw?
Where do you want me to hit you?’
And I think a quarterback that
constantly wants to learn from
his receivers and his running
backs and his offensive linemen is
constantly getting better.

TMD: To those who haven’t

seen (freshman running back)
Justin Jackson, how would you

describe his play?

CJ: Interesting. He’s very fun

to
watch.

Every
time

I watch him
he’s
bouncing

off
tackles,

cutting, making
people
miss

—
it’s
pretty

cool. I watched
a
three-yard

gain by him in
practice,
and

he
was
just

weaving through, bouncing off
people just to get those three yards.
It was amazing to see.

TMD: A team like Northwestern

doesn’t get many high-profile
recruits. How do you make up for

it against higher-
profile teams?

CJ: We have

a chip on our
shoulder.
We

understand that
we’ve got to be
a lot more gritty
and we’ve got to
work harder than
these other guys
and we have to
have fight — we

have to fight a lot more than the
other teams to make up for it.

TMD:
Michigan
and

Northwestern have played in

some close, but ugly, games as of
late. What’s the mentality like in
that matchup? Would you call it a
rivalry?

CJ: I’m not sure if it’s a rivalry,

but it’s definitely a game we have
circled on our calendar, especially
the offensive guys because we
haven’t done our jobs in the past
two games. I remember cringing
looking at the film this summer. It
was one of our worst games both
seasons as a unit. But it’s a ton of
fun going up against Michigan.
They bring a lot of excitement to
our games and have a similar style
of play to us. Now that they have
(Jim Harbaugh), we’re that much
more excited to battle them.

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Northwestern wide receiver Christian Jones makes a catch against Michigan when the Wolverines defeated the Wildcats two years ago.

“But it’s a ton
of fun going
up against
Michigan.”

BEHIND
ENEMY
LINES