Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Matthias Farley Is Adept At Adapting To New Roles The way Matthias Farley sees it, undertaking a new defen- sive system this year is another reset in a career full of them. After beginning as a wide receiver during a redshirt season in 2011, he moved to safety in 2012 and after three games was thrown into the starting lineup of a squad that reached the national championship game. Midway through 2013, he lost his starting spot amid mental miscues and physical mistakes while his on- field time gradually decreased. Under new defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, Farley has split time between nickel back and safety in what equates to yet another fresh start. "I feel like that's been the story of my career, always starting at zero at something," Farley said. "It's always a challenge, you feel like you're set in your ways one way or another, but a lot goes back to trust and trusting the coaches have your best interests for you, trusting the system and all you can control is your effort and how hard you work." Work ethic and intelligence are unquestioned with the Charlotte, N.C., native, who is a rare source of experience on a youthful Notre Dame defense. His football IQ is what helped him successfully move from receiver to the starting safety on the nation's second-ranked scoring defense in a matter of months. His time at nickel back has only furthered his knowledge advantage over other members of the secondary. "Playing nickel really helps you understand how everything fits together," the 5-11, 205-pounder said. "This spring, I had a couple practices playing corner as well, so it got me thinking how a corner would think. "You're connected to the corner and connected to the safety while you're in nickel, so moving back you can see when you're the safety if a nickel doesn't do this or that it makes a big difference one way or the other, whether it's positive or negative. Knowing how to see it from the safety's perspective as well as the corner's perspective really helps you." Farley benefits from the best of both worlds, defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks said. "He's got that safety body type with corner skills," Cooks said. "At the nickel spot, he's progressed night and day from where he was in the spring. That's a tough position to play. Other than corner, that might be one of the toughest spots to play because you're on a slot receiver, you're asked to play man-to-man, you're asked to blitz off the edge and you're asked to play zone coverage. "Nowadays, with these spread offenses and the zone-read series, a lot of teams are playing them more on first and second downs. That's a critical position. It's good to have a smart guy there who's played corner and safety who brings ability to do a little bit of everything that you need at that position." Despite all those added responsibilities, Farley said he enjoys playing near the line of scrimmage, with most of his experience coming at the back of the defense. "You really have to train your eyes in different ways because things are on you a lot quicker," he said. "That comes with repetition and getting more comfortable with a position." As Farley has shown throughout his Notre Dame career, reaching a comfort level in new surroundings has proven to come with few headaches. — Andrew Owens Farley has lined up at nickel back and safety during fall practice for the Irish. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND