Matt Farniok Quotes - March 9, 2020

Matt Farniok
SENIOR | OFFENSIVE LINE

On the 'no excuses' team mentality
"There's no more of that attitude of 'it's his first time' or 'it's his first year' or 'we're trying to mesh together.' That isn't an option, and it never really should have been. We're just really hammering home on being the best that we can be."
 
On if he might move from offensive tackle to offensive guard
"It's probably pretty solid. It's going to come down to who the best five is up front. Wherever they say I fit best, that's where I'll go play."
 
On if he worked at guard today at practice
"I worked a little bit of guard."
 
On how his early experience at guard will help him moving forward
"It gives a little bit of a baseline. Tackle to guard isn't as drastic of a change as you'd think. The only thing that changes is that everything is going to happen a little bit faster. Besides that, it's pretty much the same."
 
On which guard position he played today
"Left guard."
 
On his impressions of playing guard
"It is weird. I'm use to being on the outside so it's weird having two guys right by me. It kind of puts me in a box. It's fun."
 
On if it's harder moving from tackle to guard or from the right side to the left side
"Probably right side to left side because I have to flip all the rules. That's probably the biggest catch I'd say."
 
On what he's seen from Adrian Martinez the last couple of months
"I saw him grow as a leader and understanding that we were so close so many times across the board. We have to do a better job as leaders and other leaders on this team of holding us to that higher standard because where we held ourselves last year wasn't quite there. We have to find a way to find that next level."
 
On how much the competition on the offensive line will make things interesting
"Competition is always going to create some kind of greatness. It'll always create someone to be better than what they were. Whenever you have someone who is trying to challenge you or push you even harder, it's going to create better for everyone. Everyone is going to get better across the board. Whoever the five are going to be are going to be the best five."
 
On how he thought the offensive line played last year
"I think we weren't quite as mesh as we needed to be. I would say that was our biggest downfall. It just seemed that we were just half a step off of each other. I think especially now having that all under our belt, having the spring ball, it already felt today that we were more together. Everyone seemed to be moving in unison which was really nice."
 
On if he saw a difference toward the end of the year with the growth of Cam Jurgens
"You could tell as he got more confident in his calls and what he was doing, it makes play a lot easier because at the end of the day, he's going to be commanding us on what we're doing. As long as he's loud and confident, it makes our jobs a lot easier because we know exactly where we're supposed to go. As he became more sure of himself, you could see us all start to play better."
 
On what he has seen from Bryce Benhart
"He's an attacker. He really loves the game of football. Every day he lives by our motto 'day by day.' He wants to be a little better than he was yesterday every single day.  Now, he's put himself in a great opportunity to prove it. I know he's going to do everything in his power to keep fighting and continuing to get better."
 
On what he has seen from the guys who redshirted last fall
"They've all gotten bigger. Zach Duval and that staff have done a great job of getting them looking like true Big Ten linemen. Their footwork has been improving. I think down the road, I have faith in all these guys that if need be or whatever happens, I have confidence that they'll step in and do the right thing and be contributors."
 
On the offensive lineman displaying toughness this season
"It's an 'every play, every day' type of mentality you have to have. You have to be tough to play o-line. You have to be tough to make a play. When you start to crack and start to get weak, that's when the mistakes happen. That's when the details start to not matter as much. If we live by the true toughness and continue to strive to make others tough, all-around play from everyone is going to get better. From offense to defense to special teams, it doesn't matter. If you're truly tough, you're going to be a lot better of a football player."

NU Athletic Communications