BYU senior Matt Hadley gets rewarded after years of being the ultimate team player
Brigham Young Cougars running back Matt Hadley (2) runs the ball upfield as he breaks away from defenders during Brigham Young University's homecoming game against the University of Hawaii held Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018, at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Brigham Young Cougars wide receiver Dax Milne (82) congratulates running back Matt Hadley (2) on Hadley's touchdown during Brigham Young University's homecoming game against the University of Hawaii held Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018, at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
For all of the individual praise and criticism that gets heaped on college football players, winning and losing comes down to the cohesion and teamwork of the entire squad.
As the BYU team has reiterated multiple times in 2018, each athlete on the field at a given time has to take care of his responsibilities or failure becomes more and more likely.
With so many positions to be filled, some of the most valuable unsung heroes are players who sacrifice glory and prestige to become what the team needs them to be.
The majority of the time, these guys toil in the shadows without any fanfare.
Every once in awhile, such as for Cougar super-senior Matt Hadley, they get a chance to shine.
Hadley has played many different positions for BYU on offense, defense and special teams, including playing both linebacker and running back for the Cougars this season.
Last Saturday during the 49-23 BYU win over Hawaii at LaVell Edwards Stadium, Hadley finally got the chance to really shine as a running back.
“There was definitely some rust but the offensive line did such a great job that it helped me relearn,” Hadley said Saturday after the game. “There’s things that I need to work out, but that goes for all of us.”
Hadley turned out to be the leading rusher for the Cougars, carrying the ball nine times for 91 yards.
His long rush was a 39-yard sprint where he broke through the line and found himself with plenty of green grass.
Perhaps the highlight, however, was when he took a handoff and went around the right side for 21 yards and a touchdown.
“It felt pretty good — actually it felt really good,” Hadley said. “It was my first time doing it since high school which has what, been probably over a decade now for me. It feels that way — but it was awesome. I loved it. I loved the atmosphere and loved the experience.”
He later recalled that his last time running the ball this much was in his high school state championship back in 2011, which gives you an idea of how satisfying it must have been to score again.
Former BYU running back/linebacker Michael Alisa praised Hadley during the game on his @MichaelAlisa42 Twitter account, tweeting:
“@versace_matt2 been doin this for years but has been wasting his time at safety. The kid is a running back! Best vision in the RB room.”
For his part, Hadley was quick to heap praise on the guys up front who opened up the holes for him to run through.
“These guys are unbelievable, they really are,” Hadley said. “Not only are they strong and they execute like they are supposed to, they are smart. For us as ball carriers, the quarterback and other guys on the offense, you love that. An O-line that knows what they are supposed to do and they do it, you can’t ask for much more than that.”
Cougar freshman offensive lineman James Empey returned the compliment, saying it’s easier to be in the trenches when guys are running hard and attacking.
“It’s nice to have backs who hit holes and run hard and break some tackles too,” Empey said.
When a team gains 280 yards on the ground like BYU did against the Rainbow Warriors, it is a testament to the work of the offensive line. Empey said the guys came in refocused after a couple of tough losses.
“We struggled a little bit the past couple of weeks and everybody knows that if you can’t run the ball then it’s hard to be productive as an offense,” Empey said. “We had a goal to run the ball and practiced it earlier this week with emphasis on techniques. Our coaches have asked us to be more physical and get the ball and we did that a lot today.”
While the BYU football team has an open date and thus gets some time to recuperate, the Cougars did announce the time and broadcast information for their next game.
BYU will host Northern Illinois at LaVell Edwards Stadium at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 27, giving the Cougars a rare Saturday afternoon home game.
“We get an afternoon game ???????? hey now!” was the response from BYU senior linebacker Sione Takitaki on his @STakitaki Twitter account.
The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.