Michigan Football Q&A: Jourdan Lewis
9/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 20, 2015
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan players and coaches will sit down with MGoBlue.com's Steve Kornacki on Sundays during the 2015 season. Cornerback Jourdan Lewis spoke today (Sunday, Sept. 20) about the 28-7 win over UNLV and next week's game against Brigham Young at Michigan Stadium.
Q. Brigham Young has won two games this season on Hail Mary passes by quarterback Tanner Mangum. What has enabled the Cougars to have that kind of success and what do you have to be most concerned with in defending them?
A. I saw those two games. They're relentless, and Coach (Jim) Harbaugh always talks about them being relentless and not giving up and always taking it to them and taking it to your opponent, never giving up. And BYU, they never give up. When you watch them play, it's glaring.
Q. You had four pass break-ups against UNLV and did a great job defending its go-to receiver, Devonte Boyd, whose long catch and touchdown didn't come against you. What enabled you to have that success?
A. Coach (assistant Mike Zordich) is always preaching being aggressive so it doesn't matter what they do. Coach Zordich says that as long as we play our technique, we can match up with anybody in the country.
Q. Are the pass break-ups all about anticipation and proper technique?
A. It's definitely about technique and route recognition, knowing what they like to do on first down and third down, when they take shots. So, it's definitely game-planning and technique.
Q. The speculation coming into this season was that Jabrill Peppers would be the lockdown cornerback. But you've played that position so well that it's allowed Jabrill to start at strong safety. That's made for a much stronger secondary. What does it mean to you to have been able to do that?
A. It frees up a lot of people. We have Jeremy Clark and Channing Stribling (both cornerbacks) and all those DBs who can play different positions because we have that stable person who can match up on their best receiver. We can do different things back there, and it's amazing.
Q. You're 5-10 and 175 pounds. You get asked a lot about your size, and every other defensive back starter is three or four inches taller than you. Is too much made of that?
A. Yeah. It's really a mindset when you're out there. It's not about height. Of course, that would help you. But if you have technique and skill, it doesn't really matter how tall you are.
Q. Can you see the clear benefits of your teammates in the secondary playing multiple positions since Harbaugh arrived as head coach?
A. Definitely. Jeremy Clark, he was a safety. Jeremy becoming a corner was a big, big thing. He's got two picks right now, and it gives us free range when we know what everybody else is doing. I play a little bit of nickel (back), too. It gives us all a better understanding of the overall defense.
Q. You mentioned Coach Zordich, a long-time NFL player and coach. What has his impact been on you?
A. Just to play aggressive, honestly. Have fun out there and play with your technique. If your technique is sound, nobody can do anything. He makes us do formation recognition, and it improves every aspect of our play. He wanted me to play nickel, too, and that definitely benefited me.
Q. What's been the benefit of playing under defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin?
A. He lets you be aggressive and wants you to be aggressive. If you can't be aggressive, you can't play in his system. It's all about energy and passion. If you don't have that passion, he doesn't want you on the field. He's a great teacher, but his energy is unreal. He lets us be ourselves and play free.
Q. You've all been asked more about Coach Harbaugh than anything else. Now that you've played three games under him, can you better describe what makes him a great coach?
A. He's really unique. He has that winning formula. He's really enthused about what we're doing. It's just him. He has what it takes to make winners and be a winner.
Q. You currently play with four of your teammates from Detroit Cass Tech: offensive lineman David Dawson, safety Delano Hill, linebacker Royce Jenkins-Stone and cornerback Terry Richardson. Describe what it's been like to continue playing with them at Michigan.
A. It's amazing. We all grew up together. I've been playing with and against Delano and Terry at least since I was 11. That camaraderie and chemistry that you feel with those guys gives us such a common ground. We had a pipeline here. Thomas Gordon, Delonte Hollowell and Big Will, Will Campbell, came before us.
Q. Your high school coach was Thomas Wilcher, an outstanding tailback who played with Coach Harbaugh at Michigan. You played on two of his state championship teams. What was the greatest impact Coach Wilcher had on you?
A. Exposure. He took us everywhere and anywhere. We went to Alabama, North Carolina, Toledo, lots of places to get better competition and get us on top of our games.
Q. What schools did you visit coming out of Cass Tech?
A. I only visited Alabama and Michigan. I went down to Alabama with some of my teammates, and that was pretty much it. After that, I knew exactly where I wanted to go. I was committed to Michigan, but we went down there (to Alabama) for a seven-on-seven (camp). It was always Michigan for me.
Q. When did you lock in on Michigan and why?
A. I was extremely young. It was when I started watching football. It was Wolverines all my life. What got me was the fight song. I really love the fight song, and it was exciting to me. It's a great tradition, and I wanted to be a part of it. My first favorite player was (Wolverines career rushing leader) Mike Hart. I was a running back when I was younger.
I came up here in eighth or ninth grade to watch "Shoelace" (Denard Robinson) practice and to see him and the other guys running around, I couldn't wait for it to be my turn. It was surreal the first time I stepped in that locker room after a win and sang "The Victors."
Q. What do you enjoy about studying sociology, your major?
A. It's basically the social conflicts that I want to understand more like race and religion. I want to understand why people do things and what drives them.
Q. What do you like to do when you're not focusing on school or football?
A. I just chill out, play video games, watch football or TV. I'm just a simple kind of guy. I don't do anything over the top. Football is just everything. And so if I'm off from doing football, I'm calming down so I can do some more football later.
