Victoriaville, Thetford Mines, Syracuse… and the NFL. Thanks to an atypical career, but dotted with great successes, Matthew Bergeron is about to settle in his Eldorado. He knocks on the doors of the best football league in the world and by the end of the week, a team will welcome him to his new home.
He will be surrounded by 30 of his relatives, starting Thursday, in a room rented by the City of Victoriaville, in the town where he grew up.
In a press conference in front of members of the Quebec media on Monday afternoon, the best hope of the Belle Province for the next NFL draft knows that he is about to reach the end of a long process. Process during which he had to stand out to convince at least one of the 32 NFL organizations to trust him.
“You just have to appreciate every moment and take a step back when you do events like the Senior Bowl or the NFL evaluation camp. You have to look at the overall picture of the situation and it’s hard for me in my position, because I have blinkers on and I’m very focused. It’s a little hard to enjoy the moment and tell myself that I’m in this process, “he said.
Bergeron raised many eyes during his time in the American university ranks. The Syracuse University offensive lineman stood out for his versatility and leadership, having assumed the role of captain of the Orange.
He’s been getting a lot of attention for the past few weeks. In this unique epic to the NFL, it is important for him to make rumors flow and preconceptions like water off a duck’s back.
“I leave out a lot of it,” he said. The repechage period is exceptional, because it happens just once in the career of a football player. It’s three or four months where people are going through you from A to Z. People are looking for everything to get articles or clicks. I leave a lot and I don’t take the time to look in detail at what is being said about me. »
For the 23-year-old, there are not a thousand ways to ignore ambient noise: “I don’t watch social media. I just need the opinion of my friends and family. »
Top prospects are invited to a series of interviews with leaders of NFL organizations. A coveted hope as Bergeron lived a “not badly busy” last month. He revealed that he visited the facilities of seven formations in addition to having obtained “12 to 15” interviews by Zoom.
He traveled from east to west to south and this backlog of visits was the toughest aspect to deal with for the 6’5″, 318lb guy: “The hardest part is walking from place to place and taking the plane every day. I’m a big guy, so the plane is not the most comfortable place, and that was the hardest thing. That and the jet lag. »
At least he draws a positive balance from all his visits: “After each visit, I thought to myself that it had gone really well. There is not a visit where I believe I have communicated badly. I got good feedback from the coaches too. »
Still, for a humble, grounded boy like him, speaking only in the first person singular for more than a month proved somewhat irritating: “I hate that,” he admitted with a laugh.
“It’s something I don’t like to do. I don’t like to talk about myself and brag, but in interviews you have to do it, because it’s a job interview. You have to brag about yourself as a person, player and athlete. I have no choice, because I am looking for a job. I would like to play football in the NFL. »
Each year, the teams are known for asking the candidates a little crazy questions. For his part, Bergeron was asked in particular that it was his favorite song or what he would do on a desert island. He even played darts and mini golf in some coaches’ offices.
It is almost impossible to predict when and by whom Bergeron will be selected as this draft will be open.
According to him, the athlete from Victoriaville does not seem to be too worried about the outcome of his selection for the moment. According to him, Thursday will be the most stressful day.
“I think the stress will kick in on Thursday afternoon, going to the room. I am someone who lives day to day. After my training on Thursday, I think the stress will return. »
The dice are now rolled. He believes he has taken the necessary steps to seduce the leaders of the NFL. At the very least, he will have known how to remain himself during the whole process, thanks to three fundamental values: “Put the team first, work and stay humble.” »
