Phidarian Mathis is glad to be a Washington Commander.
The rookie from Alabama enjoyed his first training camp. “It was very exciting to be out there with the guys. It was a dream come true for me. It was amazing just being out there with my defensive linemen and just playing the game that I love.”
Admittedly, there was some surprise the first preseason game.
“The game is fast. That’s something that was very surprising to me. Just going into the game I knew it was going to be fast, but to get to actually see it. That was one of the things that I felt the difference from college ball.”
Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen are being good models for Mathis. “I’m just really learning how to be a pro. Just watching how those guys come to practice, how they work hard, how they take the game seriously, just watching their leadership, just falling in line, being right behind those guys, and just trying to learn from them every day.”
Mathis realizes it will take time to be a starter. “I’m not a selfish guy, I had to wait my time in Alabama. I was there five years, so I understand what it means to wait. But you can’t look at it like that. You got to look at it like, just come to practice, get better every day, and just be ready when your time comes.”
Phidarian and his family had to be informed on what the DMV means.
“Yeah, they are all caught up. I’m from the country, so nobody knows too much about the DMV. So I had to learn it myself, but everybody is on track now.”
The rookie enjoys watching the film of former ‘Bama defensive linemen now in the NFL. “We got so many guys in the NFL that I can lean on, especially defensive tackle-wise. I got Jon (Allen) and Payne (Daron) here. I got Quinnen Williams (Jets) and (Christian) Barmore (Patriots). There are so many guys I can name. Just really watching their film and just seeing how they do things.”
There is one thing Mathis really enjoys about NFL training camp.
“Not going to school. You get to just play football. You can be around football all day. I think that’s kind of the (most fun) thing, just coming out here, playing football, knowing that you don’t have to stay up late to study for a test, or anything like that.”