Pioneer Offensive Lineman Chris Jarmon was interviewed by D3Football.com about his experiences as a student-athlete, life at Grinnell College, and his own personal blog (www.thed3experience.com).
Read the entire interview below. The feature was published in D3Football.com's Kickoff 2010 available here.
D3: Is the D-III experience all you expected?
CJ: The D-III experience is everything I could have hoped for and more. I know I've certainly had a little bit of a bumpier ride than some of the other athletes out there, but it's been an amazing learning and growing experience. The relationships and leadership skills I've developed while playing Division III football are invaluable, and I'm lucky to have been allowed to play the game I love at such a competitive level while still getting an excellent education.
D3: You've played one year at Colorado College and one at Grinnell. How do the programs compare?
CJ: For me, both the programs at Colorado College and at Grinnell have had a wonderful family atmosphere with a great support system among teammates, coaches and parents. Both programs also put a competitive squad on the field, even though I've experienced only losing seasons so far. Where I feel the programs tend to differ is institutional support. At Colorado College, I feel that the College did not provide us with adequate tools and support to succeed, and I was shown how poorly they support intercollegiate athletics when they decided to cut the football program. I admire Grinnell as an institution for supporting their football program in every aspect, and for standing behind us no matter how tough things get on or off the field. I've found that it's much easier to carry out my daily life as a D-III football player when I don't have to worry about what's going on behind closed doors.
D3: I notice you said 'athletes' instead of 'student-athletes.' Do you think players care about the buzzwords and labels from the NCAA and media?
CJ: I do think players care, to an extent. However, at Grinnell we don't get too wrapped up in making sure people know we're students first, because people in this community already know that. Grinnell is an intense academic environment, so there's no question that our education comes first. I suppose at this point I'm used to referring to myself as an athlete since my presence here infers that I'm looking to get an education. I think some other D-III players might agree that those buzzwords and labels are meant more for players in higher NCAA divisions where there is a greater emphasis on preparing for professional sports.
D3: Having seen almost 20 different teams up close the past two years, what does Grinnell need to do to contend for conference titles?
CJ: I could hide behind my previous answer and say that our difficulty in finding athletes who are also academically and socially suitable for this particular environment is what holds us back from being a top team in the Midwest Conference. Having competed against almost 20 different teams, including D3football.com top 10 and top 5 teams, I've found that depth helps quite a bit, and we don't have much of it. However, our head coach Jeff Pedersen won a MWC championship here in his freshman year (1998) without much depth, and I don't think the environment at Grinnell or in the MWC as a whole has changed too much since then. All we need is a group of players and coaches like that 1998 team that collectively buys into the head coach's philosophy and believes that winning consistently is possible despite whatever disadvantages we think we may have. It's an incredibly simple, yet incredibly difficult thing to do.
 Chris Jarmon's summer job blends football and media.
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D3: What's the most unique facet of game day on Grinnell's campus?
CJ: The most unique facet of our game day is our seating. We don't have a track surrounding our field, so all of our fans are very close to the action. In addition to filling the bleachers, we have rowdy students covering the grass along the sidelines, about 2 yards from the field itself, which makes for a very fun and intense game atmosphere.
D3: Is there a game the fans or players get up for more than any other?
CJ: Because of the way our conference is set up, there aren't too many big rivalries among our member schools. The games we get fired up for the most tend to be Knox and Lake Forest, because we've had very competitive games with them in recent years.
D3: What made you decide to write a blog about your time in Division III?
CJ: I've been focused on pursuing a career in sports media since a young age, and I was the sports editor for my high school paper. I noticed that no other players were really doing anything quite like it, and I thought that with my training and career aspirations I could put out decent quality content on a semi-regular basis and have some fun with it. Being a Division III football player is -- in my opinion -- an experience unlike anything else in college, so I figured other people might like to read about what it's like. I thought it might be something that would give me a little bit of a niche, and so far I believe it has.
D3: Has anyone at either school ever asked you to stop, or stop using Twitter?
CJ: Surprisingly, no one has ever asked me to stop, or to retract any content I've published. During my freshman year, I was terrified of writing about something that should be kept out, but I realized that I tend to have a pretty good filter for what shouldn't be on the internet. As the years have gone by, I've started to loosen up and enjoy it a little more, and the coaches and players have responded in kind. Especially here at Grinnell, everyone seems to embrace the uniqueness of it, and my teammates like it whenever they get a "shout-out" on the blog or on Twitter.
D3: What's the most interesting interaction you've had with a fan or reader online?
CJ: I actually get a lot of questions from high school kids and their parents about everything from training to recruiting. It surprises me how personal their questions are, since to them I'm essentially a complete stranger. The most interesting email I've ever gotten was probably one from the mother of a high school football player. Her son had been kicked off the team, and she wanted to know what he should do to get back on the team. I thought it was strange that the parent asked me about this and not the player, but I found it especially strange that she thought I would be an expert on the situation. I wrote a long and thoughtful response but I never heard back, so it must have been the wrong kind of advice.
D3: What has it been like working at NFL Films the past two summers?
CJ: Working at NFL Films the past two summers has been truly amazing. In addition to doing a lot of hands-on work for the NFL Network, I've gotten the chance to meet plenty of high-profile players, coaches and members of the media, which is important for my career path. It's been a blessing to have had such a great summer job.
D3: Did you pick up anything football-wise?
CJ: The show I work for, "NFL Playbook," is a very technical football show, so I've definitely learned a lot more about the nuts and bolts of the game from editing segments for the show.
