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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 16, 2015Matthias FarleySouth Bend, Indiana An Interview With: MATTHIAS FARLEY Q. I believe you went through what he has going on now. You had surgery on your wrist before the Pittsburgh game? MATTHIAS FARLEY: Yeah, yeah. Q. In 2012. And I know it took a little bit for you to get over, but then was the mental -- can't even talk about the physical pain but obviously was there a mental hurdle involved that at some point you could use that hand for football related activities and you could go play? MATTHIAS FARLEY: Absolutely. What helped me is most is Zeke Motta, he broke his thumb in the same place in high school. After I got injured, I missed a couple of tackles in the first half of that game, and he came up to me and he said, Matthias, your hand is already broken; right? He said, it's not going to get worse; it's already broken. He said, don't think about it. If it's broken even worse, they can put it back together. Q. I was going to follow up with a Zeke quote and he said he told you you weren't going to die. MATTHIAS FARLEY: He said, it's already broken; right? I said, technically, yes. He goes, okay; it shouldn't matter. Don't think about it. So I just went out and didn't think about it. Definitely it's like anytime you have an injury that involves surgery, it's invasive, and I remember sitting there looking at my thumb, and I was like, it's never going to move again. But it's fine now, so it's just getting over that mental hurdle. Q. Last season you didn't play much against Navy for whatever reason, but then you got in late, and I think you had five snaps in like four big plays in a row. Is it something where you really forget about that last year, but that you so much you do understand the concepts, you do understand what a triple option team is trying to do because seemed like you're immediately in tune, coming in cold from the bench. MATTHIAS FARLEY: Yeah. I think they were -- it was the last part of the game, so they weren't really running triple option at that point. Yeah, it was a comfortability factor with having seen it multiple years, you know, playing Air Force, playing Navy in the past. So I think having that experience and having seen it before helps, but obviously, you know, there's -- it's a bear every time. It's never easy. Technically you have to be sound, and your eyes have to be perfect every play. So there's a lot of mental stuff that goes into it, but there's definitely a comfortability factor having gone through it before. Q. First career start at linebacker; right? MATTHIAS FARLEY: Yeah. Still close. But same stuff. You gotta read your cues and ^ react, and it's one of those games where everybody has to do their job because it's so vital to stopping it. Very, very approachable option time. Q. Just a little cleanup work type question, I guess. Coach Kelly referred to you having an ankle injury that was similar to Malik's. MATTHIAS FARLEY: Yeah. I had bone spurs that were -- you know, my ankle was basically broken my freshman year. Q. Okay. So it was freshman year? MATTHIAS FARLEY: Yeah. And they had to go in and clean it all up. Q. Just as a basis for comparison, how long was your recovery? MATTHIAS FARLEY: So I got surgery right after the season in 2011, and I was practicing spring. I was able to do a lot of the spring workouts leading up to that. Not fully, but it was -- you know, by the end of spring I was 100 percent. Q. So all things being equal -- MATTHIAS FARLEY: Yeah. Q. -- he's going to have a lot more time to recover from that? MATTHIAS FARLEY: Yeah. Absolutely. Q. I asked some guys in the last couple of weeks about head trauma. I don't think that I asked you about that. And that's in the news. There's a movie about that, and obviously it's something that you guys have to deal with. Chris Borland retired from the 49ers after one year. How do you put all of that in perspective? Do you worry about that? Have you had concussions? How do you deal with that? MATTHIAS FARLEY: I've had a concussion, but it's not something I can say I've thought about or worried about. Injuries are part of the game. There's guys who get concussion because they hit their head on the ground diving for a pass. It's not necessarily all running into a person or getting in a head-to-head collision. It's definitely part of the game, and obviously it's picking up steam in the media with Borland and people taking a big interest in it. I personally never think about it. I just think a lot of guys on the team don't think about it either. It's a known thing, a known risk, but there's a lot of risk involved. Q. When did you have that one concussion? MATTHIAS FARLEY: In the spring. Q. What was your experience with it? What was your recovery? What was the degree of how bad was it exactly? MATTHIAS FARLEY: I don't think it was that bad. I don't know how I would compare that to somebody else who had a concussion. But you know, the trainers and the doctors here, they took everything very, very slow getting back. You know, it was one of those things it was very frustrating, obviously, because you can't just like go get some stim on it and go out and be okay. So but we took the stims very slow, and I haven't had any residual symptoms from it. Q. Coach VanGorder is a guy known for constantly putting in, installing something new. At your position and your responsibility, what is that like? Frustrating at times, I'm sure? Is it exhilarating to constantly be mentally challenged by his schemes? MATTHIAS FARLEY: I think it's awesome. I think we're learning a whole lot that a lot of guys in the country don't get the opportunity to learn because we can learn it and we -- you know, it's hard at times because there's a lot on your plate, but I think that's the exciting part and that's the challenge of it that guys really look forward to and enjoy because week in, week out we can get entirely different, you know, system or deal which is exciting to be put in a position week in, week out to be the best. Q. It may not be as exciting to some as it is to guys like you that can pick that up pretty easily. MATTHIAS FARLEY: I think everybody has done a really good job of picking it up. You know, I think being second year in the system, it's not as fresh and brand new, so I think guys have a comfortable ability with it now that they didn't have last year. Q. And the notion that it's an NFL-type defense, I mean I'm sure that appeals to a lot of you guys that have aspirations to go on to the next level. MATTHIAS FARLEY: Absolutely. Q. Matthias, I was wondering if you could talk from a defensive back perspective, the challenges of playing a triple option team where you won't necessarily see more than 8, 10 passes per game, just from that perspective, what it's like. MATTHIAS FARLEY: You know, it's really an eyes and focus game. Each play you have to start from zero. You have your key whoever it is on that play or call, and you have to be locked into that, because what they do affects what you do and then if you don't react in the way or manner you should, then that messes somebody else up. And 11 guys have to do their job and just their job each and every play and come back and reset, refocus each and every play. Q. How is your preparation when you play a team like Navy, or Georgia Tech in this case, different than when you play another team? MATTHIAS FARLEY: Well, that's the biggest difference in the triple option team. It's different than most things we see, and the way everything fits from an offensive standpoint is a lot different. The way the defense fits is a lot different. There's a lot less, I think we could do as far as, you know, play calling, whatever it is, because of the triple option team. It's not something we see week in, week out. Q. Matthias, I wanted to ask you about C.J. You played alongside of him when he was on defense and probably faced off against him now that he moved to offense. What makes him so versatile and what has allowed him to succeed regardless of the position he's been in? MATTHIAS FARLEY: I think a lot of it comes from being a freak athlete, and then he's smart and he's willing. I think a lot of times someone could get down and be like I don't want to do this, but every position he's been moved to or from he's really bought in 100 percent, and I think that's showing and is very apparent in him playing running back, he's bought in 100 percent. And he's also big and fast and strong and all those other things, but I think mentally his ability to just adjust and adapt to a new position and excel at it. Q. And it's a top 15 matchup this weekend. How fun are games like that when you know it's a huge game that can change the landscape? MATTHIAS FARLEY: I mean I honestly don't think about it. Q. It's fairly well known that there's a "Win One For the Gipper" mentality around here. Has there been a win one for Malik moment or win one for Durham or Jarron -- MATTHIAS FARLEY: Yeah, absolutely. Injuries are obviously a part of the game, unfortunate part of the game. So those guys are with us in spirit when we're out there. You know, it's terrible to see them go to St. Williams and they're in a bed or whatever it is because they were just healthy and just fine. So they're definitely in there with us in spirit, and you know, I think Malik, he still brings energy, even though he's only a couple of days removed he's been keeping everybody positive, keeping everybody up. So I think there's absolutely one of those mentalities for everyone who's been hurt. Q. You described a couple of injuries that you've had in the last few years. When you're out rehabbing, do you still feel like you're part of the team or -- obviously you're missing something. MATTHIAS FARLEY: I feel like it's one of those things where you feel like it's, you know, unfortunate or whatever it is, but the team here is so incredible that you don't really -- you feel a disconnect from maybe playing or, you know, unfortunately my injuries didn't come while I was playing and my hands you could play with. But it's one of those things where the team is so close here, you know, guys who in and out of St. Williams when I even got thumb surgery a couple of years ago or ankle surgery when I was a freshman. So guys do a really great job of getting things signed for them. There's a really team aspect. So I don't think anybody even has the opportunity to slightly feel like they're not a part of the team. They might not feel, you know, like they're contributing as much on the field, but there's definitely no disconnect from the team standpoint. THE MODERATOR: We good? All right. Thanks everybody. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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