The View From Notre Dame: For Farley, a New Look and New Success FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Matthias Farley bears little resemblance to the player he was in 2011, and it's not just because of a position switch he made last spring from receiver to safety. For the sophomore, it all lies in the beard he has cultivated, joining defensive linemen Tony Springmann and Kapron Lewis-Moore and offensive lineman Mike Golic Jr. in Notre Dame's exclusive "Beard Gang." "A lot of it's genetic," Farley said. You have to have the capability to grow a beard and there's a lot of maintenance you might not think of. Which makes it just like his development in the secondary for No. 1 Notre Dame, which is set to play in Monday's B.C.S. championship game in Miami. The Charlotte, N.C., native was first drawn to high school soccer and did not even play football until his junior year of high school. When Farley moved from slot receiver to safety, it appeared he had time before the Irish would need him to make a splash. But Farley was called upon sooner than anyone could have expected. Coming into the season with only three years of football experience -- he grew up a soccer player in Charlotte, N.C., and took up football as a junior in high school -- Farley's grace period was cut short in June when safety Austin Collinsworth was lost for the season with a torn labrum. Then, during Notre Dame's 20-3 win at Michigan State on Sept. 15, starting safety Jamoris Slaughter sustained a torn Achilles tendon. "I came in really calm," said Farley of his performance after Slaughter's injury. I usually come in calm, but it was a different kind of situation going into a game knowing that Jamoris probably wasn't coming back. Farley found himself a starter on the stifling defense of the then 3-0 Irish. "It's definitely surreal but a lot of it is the great coaching staff and players around me helped me build confidence throughout the year," he said. That's what coaches do. They have the faith and saw the potential and it's their job to get it out of you and our coaching staff does a great job at that. Farley's success was not immediate and he is, in many ways, a work in progress. But he leaned on safeties coach Bob Elliott on a daily basis. "Coach Elliott and I watched film after practice every day and they really do put in that extra mile to make sure we have our questions answered or anything," Farley said. It's definitely a huge blessing to have coaches who go that extra mile for us. Elliott said Farley's intelligence helped him adapt quickly to game plans and deal with the pressure of a perfect season that included Notre Dame's reclaiming of the top spot in the Associated Press poll for the first time since 1993. "He's a beautiful kid, his whole family is that way," Elliott said. He comes from a family of high achievers. He knows what he's doing. No question that his family, his background has made him who he is, just like everybody else on our team. Farley has toughness and resolve to go along with his intelligence. He sustained a broken in Notre Dame's 30-13 win at then-No. 8 Oklahoma on Oct. 27 and a few days later, he underwent surgery that inserted two plates and six screws into his hand. He didn't miss a day of practice after the surgery and played with a cast during most of the thrilling triple-overtime victory over Pittsburgh. But now, the Irish face their stiffest challenge in No. 2 Alabama (12-1), which is on the cusp of its third national championship in four years for Coach Nick Saban and the second consecutive title for starting quarterback A.J. McCarron. "He's the most efficient quarterback in the country if you look at stats," Farley said. He manages games well, he's a very good thrower, he extends plays. He has every trait you'd want in a quarterback. He's led his team to this game before so he's a huge weapon to have on Alabama's side of the ball. You could say the same about Farley, who knows all about commitment, from maintaining facial hair to mastering football on and off the field. "You have to trim it, or you'll lose your top lip or your bottom lip and it becomes a hassle," he said of his beard. The constant grooming shows commitment to the beard. He hopes to be one of the bearded men writing a storybook finish for Notre Dame's season. Andrew Owens is the assistant managing editor of The Observer, the independent daily student newspaper at Notre Dame. He is on Twitter at @OwensAndrew.