CLAIRE C. LAURENCE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona junior linebacker Sean Jones notched 10 tackles, forced a fumble and recovered two others during the Wildcats' 20-19 loss to Washington State Saturday at Arizona Stadium. Jones has thrived since converting to linebacker from fullback in the offseason.

Jones jumps at starring role

Junior linebacker Sean Jones made the move from fullback to linebacker this offseason and has worked his way into a starting role. Jones had 10 tackles, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in the Wildcats 20-19 loss to Washington State Saturday. He talked to the Wildcat about trash-talking offensive linemen, the Houston Astros' playoff hopes and jumping out of a car on Fear Factor.

Wildcat: This week a bit of a breakout week for you at linebacker?

Jones: A little bit yeah, but it could have been better.

Wildcat: What's the biggest difference from offense and defense?

Jones: It's more physical, that's about it. I'm having a lot more fun than I did on offense.

Wildcat: What's a bigger thrill, getting a big carry on offense or making a play on defense?

Jones: I get a lot more thrills playing on defense than on offense.

Wildcat: Is there any kind of rivalry between the offense and defense?

Jones: Offense likes to be better than defense and put points on the board.

Wildcat: Get a lot of jawing out here between the two squads?

Jones: Yeah.

Wildcat: Who probably runs their mouth the most?

Jones: Probably the lineman, especially when you beat them because you know they're coming at you hard the next play.

Wildcat: You recovered two fumbles and forced one. Being on offense do you have kind of a nose for the ball?

Jones: It's probably more just being at the right place at the right time.

Wildcat: You feel bad at all for the Cougars that coughed the ball up five times?

Jones: No, not at all, it's just making our defense better. We should have had more. I wish we'd have had more.

Wildcat: Who's the one UA running back you'd like to go heads up with?

Jones: All of them. I wouldn't mind going up against all of them.

Wildcat: Who's the hardest to tackle?

Jones: Probably Gilbert Harris. He's so low to the ground. He always goes forward. It hard to get under him and get a good lick on him.

Wildcat: You're a health education major. Aspirations of being a teacher?

Jones: No. I want to be a physical therapist. When I get out of here, if I don't go pro, I want to go to PT school.

Wildcat: You get a weekend off. Any big plans?

Jones: I'm going home [to Houston] Thursday.

Wildcat: You gonna catch any of the Astros series?

Jones: Hopefully, I'm a huge baseball fan.

Wildcat: The Astros got a shot of making the playoffs?

Jones: They're only one game back now, so hopefully they have a shot. If they can win out from here, I think they'll get the wild card.

Wildcat: What kind of things do you do away from the football field?

Jones: Studying, hitting the books, that's about it.

Wildcat: Is school getting tougher now that you're getting into upper division stuff?

Jones: Yeah, it's hard to balance both football and work.

Wildcat: Tell me one thing that is a misconception about student athletes.

Jones: That we're lazy. People think we get away with a lot of stuff, which we don't. All eyes are on us in the community.

Wildcat: USC stayed at No. 1 this week. Are they the best team in the nation right now?

Jones: Not at all. They can be beat, especially after seeing what Stanford did to them.

Wildcat: What's your most memorable UA sports moment?

Jones: It's hasn't happened yet. Maybe when we start winning some games. Everything before now, I'm just trying to forget about.

Wildcat: What's the last reality TV show you saw?

Jones: Fear Factor.

Wildcat: Do you think you could deal with some of that stuff?

Jones: Yeah. For sure.

Wildcat: What's the worst thing you've seen someone do on that show?

Jones: Probably people jumping out of a car or off a building.

Wildcat: Tell me the first thing that comes to mind: "Arizona State."

Jones: Beatable. We'll beat 'em. Hate 'em.

Wildcat: "Rose Bowl."

Jones: Would love to get there soon.

Wildcat: "Stoops."

Jones: Awesome.