Transcript: LB Micah McFadden

LB Micah McFadden

May 14, 2022

Q. How has this whole thing been for you, this couple days?

MICAH McFADDEN: It's been good. Just getting to know the playbook, getting to know the teammates and just try and improve every day like coach says. I've enjoyed it.

Q. Does your head swirl a little bit, you knew a lot and now you don't know as much?

MICAH McFADDEN: Yeah, the phrase they use is drinking out of a firehose, just a lot of information really quick. I think it's good. That's how you're going to learn.

Q. Not frustrating at all? Just have to take several steps back?

MICAH McFADDEN: I mean, it can be when you mess something up or you've got to do another play over.

But like I said, that's how you're going to get learn. That's how you're going to get better and that's just what the coaches want out of you.

Q. Do you consider yourself a late bloomer as far as football?

MICAH McFADDEN: I would say yes, to a certain extent. Yeah, I didn't play in high school till my junior year, and you know, was kind of overlooked at an early age, but yeah, definitely.

Q. How did you feel about being overlooked?

MICAH McFADDEN: I think it just puts a chip on your shoulder. You know, you want to get better and you want to, everybody wants to play, and kind of being overlooked like that, it makes you want to play even more and it makes you go harder.

Q. Why didn't you play football until then? Were you interested in other sports or just you didn't have an interest in it at that point?

MICAH McFADDEN: I played football every year since I was six. I just wasn't good at it.

Q. So you were playing, you just weren't on the high school team?

MICAH McFADDEN: Correct.

Q. Are you good at it now?

MICAH McFADDEN: I would say I'm getting there, yeah.

Q. What do you pride yourself on as a linebacker?

MICAH McFADDEN: I just say being instinctive, playing fast and physical and just getting to the ball.

Q. Are you hearing the plays in your headset at this point?

MICAH McFADDEN: Yeah.

Q. What's that like for?

MICAH McFADDEN: Yeah, it's definitely new, but I like it. I like being able to hear the call. You’re not looking at a bunch of funky signals off the sideline. It's just direct, straight into the helmet and you know what you're doing.

Q. What changed for you in high school that you were able to make that step so late in your junior year?

MICAH McFADDEN: I'd say once I got to varsity, just the coaches kind of made it simpler for me, and I played pretty much like an edge rusher my junior year, and that just enabled me to kind of run around and hit people and just play fast. So that's kind of what changed.

Q. So what did you play before that?

MICAH McFADDEN: My sophomore year I was on JV, and I played inside backer, and then freshman year I played inside backer as well.

Q. Did you start? Were you a starting player or you said you weren't very good at it?

MICAH McFADDEN: On JV or varsity?

Q. On JV.

MICAH McFADDEN: I started my sophomore year. I played a little as a freshman. I didn't start.

Q. And you started the last two years?

MICAH McFADDEN: Yeah.

Q. What's the recruiting process like when you start so late and you only have two years of tape for guys to look at?

MICAH McFADDEN: Yeah, I didn't have much of one, actually. I only had six offers. Didn't get my first offer till the spring before my senior year. But you know, just different. I think I committed in the summer right before my senior year. So after that, there wasn't much coming in either. It was pretty short.