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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

