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VIZIO BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: AUBURN v FLORIDA STATEJanuary 2, 2014Christian JonesPASADENA, CALIFORNIA Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: It's real important, maybe about emotions, trying to get your highs out of the way. It's important that we stay focused on what we have, what our job is supposed to be. Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: Yeah, early in the season we was trying to figure it out. The most important thing for our defense is guys doing their jobs. And if guys end up doing their jobs then we will end up playing pretty good on defense so that's what the coaches try to emphasize and that's what we practice in practice. Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: Yeah, I think that's a little bit of it, and the fact I think guys don't understand how important it is that they do their assignment; they are just trying to make a play, but for our scheme it's important that we do our assignment. Q. Can you give two or three sentences of the typical plays, Marshall is in shot gun, and Tre had the ball, you don't know what's going to happen, what are your duties and what are you working for as a key in that second? CHRISTIAN JONES: I know Tre Mason is a quick guy and Nick Marshall, you don't know where they're going to end up with the ball. We have seen plays where they were supposed to go up the middle and they bounced out because the guy lost containment. It's important, because whatever opening they have they're going to take it. Their ball carriers are good and they know where to go once they get the ball, so it's important we stay disciplined, for the inside guys to stay inside and outside guys to stay outside. Q. What are you physically looking for? Are you keying on one individual player at that point? CHRISTIAN JONES: Most of the time I'm going to be reading the quarterback, and if they're in the read option, I gotta read it in case he pulls it or keeps it, and I have to keep the edge. Once we do that we have a good shot of being in the game. Q. What was your first impression of Coach Pruitt? CHRISTIAN JONES: When I first heard, I knew he was an Alabama guy, and Alabama has had a lot of success, especially with their defense, so I knew he was going to be a guy that was going to get out there and coach us. From what I heard from the younger guys, they said he's a players' coach and he really understands his players so I got excited about that, especially when I made my decision on comin' back. I knew he was going to be somebody to change the defense around and help us improve. Q. What did you think the first time you met him in person? CHRISTIAN JONES: I thought he was funny. He has that country accent, that Alabama accent to him, and I wasn't used to that. Coach Stoops didn't have that before. I thought he could relate to the players on the team, and we felt comfortable. Q. Is he firey and excited in practice? Does he jump around a lot? CHRISTIAN JONES: I don't think I've seen him not have any energy, and I think the players feed off the coaches and especially the way he comes into the meetings, speaking loud, he grabs our attention and we pay attention and we follow that going to practice and the games. Q. Christian, Jimbo was saying he brought a few of you guys older from the defense in before he made the hire or decided on Coach Pruitt. What did he tell you about the philosophy and the scheme and how it was going to change? CHRISTIAN JONES: He told me that we would be blitz more, cause pressure with the new scheme, and guys like me and Telvin who like to fly around, it's fun hearing that, because last year our defense was about covering and assignments, and now I feel like we have a versatile defense. We can a 4‑3, 3‑4 and we bring pressure a lot. Q. When they told you what you were going to be doing, how excited did you get? CHRISTIAN JONES: I was real excited because the three years I've been here we didn't do a lot of that. Seeing all the stuff, being able to make plays, it gets you excited because everybody likes to get sacks and cause pressure so it was excite to go hear that. Q. Are you down in the three‑point stance sometimes? CHRISTIAN JONES: Yeah. Q. When was the last time you did that? CHRISTIAN JONES: Before this year? It was probably high school. Q. Like playing full back or something? CHRISTIAN JONES: It was a while ago. (Chuckles.) Q. Seeing them play Alabama so recently, how much has that helped? CHRISTIAN JONES: It helped a lot, especially with the time we had. I felt like we had a lot of time to prepare for these guys and it's going to pay to our advantage. They do a lot of stuff. Their offense reminds me of Clemson. They run it instead of throwing it. They try to get your eyes out of whack with different motions and different sets they bring out and they do a good job of hiding their players, the receivers are in the backfield and come out for passes. I feel like we have to be disciplined to win this game and be able do our job. Q. More fun, less fun to have to focus like that? Is it harder? CHRISTIAN JONES: I think it's fun. All season long we done a good job taking care of teams, have looked forward to playing, and we are looking forward to playing an SEC opponent, especially this one. Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: You gotta understand you have to play the whole game. Four games they could have lost but they finished strong, especially in the fourth quarter with five minutes left. They do a good job of coming back and getting the lead. Coach Fisher tells us‑‑ we don't try to see the scoreboard; we just go out there and play for 60 minutes, and that's what we're going to do and emphasize in the game. Q. Is it strange to think you haven't played in a close game since Florida, Tallahassee last year? CHRISTIAN JONES: It is, it's going to be a close game, I know it's going to be a good football game. Q. How do you think your team will react if you get down to the fourth quarter and it's close? CHRISTIAN JONES: We got guys that have been through the fire, man. We lost close games we should have won and some of those games still stick with us. When it gets down to it, we know how to push through it because we've been through it in the last three years, lost to opponents we should have beat in the fourth quarter. We know that feeling in the locker room when you lose to a team. Q. What is the last time you thought about North Carolina State? CHRISTIAN JONES: I think about it a lot, actually, especially when we played against Florida, Clemson, Miami, games like that when you're playing a pretty good team, you have that feeling in the back of your head, we gotta win this game because we don't want to feel like we felt last year. Q. When Jimbo was recruiting you, because you came in right after the turnover, what did he tell you was going to happen? CHRISTIAN JONES: That's crazy, because I remember when I was deciding, we had Lamarcus and other guys come in and they were big recruits, and I've lived in Florida my whole life and I was skeptical if I was heading in the right direction and Jimbo promised us he was going to do all he can to get us in this position we are in right now. Ever since I been a freshman, we talked about getting to this point, national championship, off season, through spring ball, for the past three years and he told us this is where we would be, we're going to win our conference, we're going to win a BCS Bowl and go to a National Championship and it's crazy all that work we're finally at this point. He pretty much said we were going to be at this level when I was a recruit. Q. Christian, do you think it helps the defense when you got this much time to get ready? For any defense? CHRISTIAN JONES: Yeah, it helps a lot, especially with Clemson‑‑ not Clemson, Auburn, they do a lot to confuse you, and having the extra time is going to pay to our advantage. Q. If it's been a regular week you've got three practices. How much different is it compared to just having three practices to get ready? CHRISTIAN JONES: Oh, our coaches are watching film all day and they find every little thing. I bet we got the best defensive coaches in the country. These guys break down every formation, they prepare us really well for games. Not just physically during practice but they help us understand, like, what they're doing on different downs, first, second, third, and I think we have a good understanding of what they do and at this point it's about us going out and executing it. Q. When you watched them play Missouri, what did you see on that tape? CHRISTIAN JONES: Watching I saw‑‑ the ends, a lot of times they were running up the field when they should have been squeezing, and they just had big gaps for them to run through, and that's why they ran for 600 yards because the guys were out of gaps a lot of times. But we prepared for what they did in that game, and I think we'll do a good job playing against them. Q. Does the extra time give you more ability to prepare better? CHRISTIAN JONES: I believe Nick Saban would say he wished he had more time toprepare for Auburn. Seeing what they do, I can understand why you want extra time to prepare. Q. When you watch Auburn on film do you lose the ball at all and can't see where the ball is going? CHRISTIAN JONES: It is like that sometimes, but that's why it's important that we stay in the gaps and do our job because you ‑‑ their running backs have good vision, they see the hole. We have to stay disciplined and stay in our gaps because they're cutting up, and they will run for 10 or 20. Q. When you watch Mason, how is he different? CHRISTIAN JONES: He has good vision, he's a quick back. I think he's stronger than what people think. He does a good job of keeping his balance, and we gotta wrap up. If we wrap up we'll be fine. He's a good player. He wasn't up for the Heisman for no reason. Q. What about Nick? He doesn't do the fancy stuff that Manziel does and he doesn't pass a lot. What do you see from Marshall? CHRISTIAN JONES: I think he does a great job of running the offense and being a quarterback. He's an athletic guy and he can get on the edge and take off, too, so it's real important. He's one of the guys we have to key in on. Q. Are you worried about his passing? CHRISTIAN JONES: Yeah, we know he doesn't throw a lot, but we saw him throw the ball. We know he can make all the throws, he can launch it, especially on the read option. We know he can make all the throws, we just gotta be locked in on it. Q. Christian, so much scoring these days, as a defender do you ever get frustrated? Do you find yourself saying, "When are the rules going to be in our favor?" CHRISTIAN JONES: Not really. It's challenging, especially as a football player, you gotta like the game plan and watching different teams, what they have out there. I think it's‑‑ I don't feel like it's in their favor at all. They're trying to win, too, so our job is to stop them. We're going to do everything we can to do that. Q. Do you like watching high‑scoring games on TV? CHRISTIAN JONES: It's definitely more entertaining, but when you see a good defense, that's entertaining, too, to see people stop someone. Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: I'll keep it as it is. Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: I mean, it happens. They can't call everything. Q. Did you see any of the Duke/Texas A&M game? CHRISTIAN JONES: I saw a little bit of it. I saw Duke was up, and I was surprised A&M came back to win. Johnny Manziel! He surprises people. Q. Did you cringe when you seen the score, or did you wish you'd seen the game? CHRISTIAN JONES: I mean, I wish I could have watched the game. Q. Do expect this game to be a shoot out? CHRISTIAN JONES: I don't think the score will get out of hand. We have a pretty good defense. Q. If this game is close the third quarter, how will you guys react? You haven't been there this year. CHRISTIAN JONES: I think we will be excited. We haven't played a full game in a long time. That would be awesome. I think we will react just fine to it. We have been in situations in the past. This year we have been better than our opponents, but if we get in that situation we have older guys around that will know what to do in those situations. Q. Have you all played a full game where you were all ‑‑ all the starters were on the field in the fourth quarter. CHRISTIAN JONES: I think the last time was Boston College. Q. That's a while. CHRISTIAN JONES: Yeah. Q. Is there any concern about how you will react in that situation? CHRISTIAN JONES: Not really, not concerned at all. We have teams where we wanted to keep playing, but, you know, when the games get out of hand, you can't keep starters in. It's going to be fun. Four full quarters of football, that's why we're out here, that's why we're out here, to play football. Q. You got recruited by the SEC schools, didn't you? CHRISTIAN JONES: Yeah, I did. Q. Who else recruited you? Pretty much all of 'em? CHRISTIAN JONES: Yeah. Q. You guys get tired of hearing about not playing in the SEC, get tired of hearing about the SEC? CHRISTIAN JONES: It gets a little bit annoying sometimes. I feel like we have some good teams in the ACC, too, and I feel like in the past those teams stepped up and showed that in bowl games. Clemson last year beating LSU, that was a big game for them to win. But a team from the SEC goes to the National Championship every year, so they get credit but there are other teams out there that can play football. Q. Would that mean something to you, to end the streak? CHRISTIAN JONES: Yeah, it's definitely something that's going to make us proud to do something like that, beat a team from SEC, especially a team that beat 'Bama, the top dogs, so it would be special for us. Q. It looked like the SEC was going to be shut out of this game, but the fact that you have a chance to get an SEC on the field, is that exciting for you? CHRISTIAN JONES: Yeah, we are happy to be representing the ACC, and we're excited to be out there. Q.  Talk to us about what happened in the Boston College game. CHRISTIAN JONES: I think after that game we understood what our jobs were. I think early in the season, I think we had a lot of guys that just wanted to go out there and make plays and not fully understanding where our defense was. After that we addressed a lot of issues and was able to fix those holes we had, and I think that paid off to our advantage throughout the season. After that game, we have been playing well on that side of the ball. Q. It seemed like the scheme changed after that. CHRISTIAN JONES: Uh‑huh. Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: We wanted to get our best athletes on the field. We want our best eleven on the field, we always talk about that. We got guys on our side of the ball that can run and make plays and that can cause problems for offenses. That's what we want to do. Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: Exactly, uh‑huh. Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: It's big. All the guys we have, are really versatile, and it's hard to do stuff, but our coaches do a good job of putting us in the right spot to make plays. Q. What does it say about Coach Pruitt? CHRISTIAN JONES: I think Coach Pruitt is a great coach, man. I've never seen a coach like that. He really be on it and you can tell through our meetings that he is enthusiastic, he is excited to be there. We feed off that, too. You come in and you're like, I don't want to practice, and you see him, come on guys, all the energy, it gets us pumped! It makes you want to play harder because you see how much he loves the game and how much he wants to win. You gotta feed off that and it makes you want it even more. Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: Yeah, after that game. Q. Can you tell us what the difference was? CHRISTIAN JONES: In that game I was the middle linebacker, and on played in third down situations but mostly I was linebacker and after that game they decided they wanted to move me to the outside linebacker spot and then I was the "D" end on the nickel. So pretty much they had me on the edge, forcing, turning things back. I think that helped us in our success we had in the season. I felt they just wanted a guy out there that can‑‑ that was athletic and versatile. I think it helped out the defense. Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: Did I in high school. Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: Yeah. Q. How tired are you hearing about Auburn's offense? CHRISTIAN JONES: Not really tired. People are going to talk about 'em. They won some crazy games this year, a lot of crazy, shoot‑out games. Hands down to them, they know how to finish. They know how to finish a game. They could have lost but they stuck with it and held on. From my understanding we know we have a challenge with that because they're team is going to fight, they're not going to give up. We always talk about playing four quarters of football and we try not to look at the scoreboard or anything we go out and play football. They have done some great things on offense and I think we will do a great job matching up against them and we're excited for Monday. Q. How much of a challenge will they be? CHRISTIAN JONES: They're going to get down and run that ball. That's what we do. We're going to go out there and stop the run. We know what we're going to get from them. It's us going out and executing what we have been doing in practice. Q. (No microphone.) From what you've seen from Jameis Winston, if he had been playing against your defense all season long would he have still won the Heisman? CHRISTIAN JONES: Jameis has always been a special player. I remember when he was a freshman on the scout team all those crazy highlights you have seen, he's been doing that since then. He's a crazy player. Q. (No microphone.) CHRISTIAN JONES: I think our defense is pretty good and he is a good player but he will make us plays, but I gotta go with the defense. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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