By Darren Johnson
Journal & Press
Former Greenwich High School football wide receiver standout Cole Burgess – currently getting a tryout with the Cincinnati Bengals – isn’t the only Witch alum extending his football career.
Matthew Conlin, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound running back/linebacker who graduated from Greenwich in June, was recruited to play for the Div. 1 University of Buffalo Bulls.
Conlin’s high school stats were impressive. He totaled 3,078 rushing yards, 8.1 yards/carry and 46 touchdowns on offense. On defense, he registered 309 tackles, 52 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, nine interceptions (three returned for touchdowns), four forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
He was Team Captain twice and named to the First Team All New York State as a running back and Second Team as a linebacker. Buffalo plans to mainly use him on defense. The freshman is majoring in Exercise Science.
I caught up with him by phone, in between practices at Buffalo recently. Here is our conversation:
DJ: Greenwich is a small school and now you’re playing in NCAA Div. 1. Did that help you, hinder you?
MC: Both. On the one hand, I got to play multiple positions and put myself in a position to compete for a championship and be seen by scouts. On the other, most of my teammates here at Buffalo played at large high schools so are used to a higher level of competition and playing in larger venues.
DJ: Did you know Cole Burgess? I guess he was a little older than you. He went the D3 route, but now has an NFL opportunity.
MC: Yeah, he’s been an inspiration. He being from Greenwich makes the opportunity feel a little bit more real.
DJ: Will you miss playing offense?
MC: Yes, but if I pick up a fumble, or anything like that, I’ll still get to do it a little bit, I hope.
DJ: The players that went to big high schools, they probably only played offense or defense. So maybe that’s an advantage to you, that you have better hand skills than they do.
MC: Yeah, something one of my coaches brought up was the advantage of me being from a small school was most of the teams we played, their whole game plan was pretty much stopping me. They’d have two or three players tying me up. Now I will have more opportunity to attack the ball.
But I think the offensive skills translate to defense. On offense, I was able to find holes; as an inside linebacker you’re basically the running back of the defense. Like, you find the hole and you attack the hole. Having that vision will help me.
DJ: I know you have great speed and strength numbers. What else do coaches like about you?
MC: I’m pretty teachable. Like, if a coach says something to me, I’ll work on it and work on it and not take it personally. I’ll use it as more so of a building point.
DJ: So you’re finding at the college level, everyone’s good pretty much at every position, whereas in high school, there were some weak spots.
MC: Just watching people go through drills, it’s like, when I would go out and see Cole Burgess just doing drills – the speed is just so much different here. Coming from a smaller school, it’s like, everyone on my team were good people, they were good athletes, but they just weren’t necessarily just as quick as these guys.
DJ: Well, this is a pretty big deal. It’s hard for a small school athlete to get an opportunity with a big D1.
MC: It’s a ridiculous opportunity. I can’t be more thankful for it. I’m playing behind people who may be NFL drafted next year, and that will make me a 20 times better player.
The University of Buffalo Bulls start their season at 7 p.m. on Aug. 29 at home vs. Lafayette.
We publish every day. More tomorrow.