Senior Spotlight: Matt Snyder

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Matt Snyder, a local product from Glen Allen, Va., checks in on what it’s like playing on the same team as his brother (Jake Snyder), his goals for the 2011 season and returning home to Scott Stadium after two-consecutive road contests. Snyder earned his undergraduate degree in foreign affairs and Spanish and is competing as a graduate student in 2011.

Question: How would you describe your career at Virginia?
Snyder: It’s been a great journey. I came here in 2007 and we had a great season and went to the Gator Bowl. I’ve experienced a lot of our ups and downs, from that amazing season to these new rebuilding ones. Hopefully it is really beginning this year. It has been a lot of great fun, and I’ve met some fantastic people and worked with really great people. It’s an experience that will be with me forever.

Question: Growing up in the Richmond area, did you always know you wanted to come to UVa.?
Snyder: I didn’t always know I wanted to come here. I knew that UVa was a great school, and I would come to games with my family when my dad got tickets. I always enjoyed the atmosphere; it was such a great football school. UVa obviously is such a great school, that when it came down to it, I had the opportunity to come here for the academics and the football.

Question: What is your first football memory?
Snyder: It would be in our front yard. My brother Jake and I would run around the house, and my dad would throw the ball over a tree and we’d dive for it. It wasn’t organized football, but it was fun!

Question: How is it playing with your brother Jake on the team?
Snyder: It is great. I love playing with Jake. All three of us, Jake, Will, and myself grew up playing together and doing things together. It is great to continue that on this team.

Question: If you could take one of your brother’s football attributes, what would it be?
Snyder: He’s definitely more powerful than I am, he’s a big guy. But he is a really smart football guy. It only takes one time for him to understand something. You tell him, and then next time he does it. He has a great motor, he gets at it and gets going.

Question: How would you describe Coach London?
Snyder: He is a very fostering coach, he is a player’s coach. He is looking to make everyone better, and that is his main goal. He believes that if individuals can get better, then we will improve as a team. He is a very positive and optimistic coach.

Question: What was your proudest athletic achievement?
Snyder: I have a lot proud moments as a part of this team. You don’t realize them then, but when you take a moment to sit back, you see. We’ve had some wins in Scott Stadium that were unbelievable. The win earlier this season at Indiana faced us with a deficit that this team last year would not have come back from. But we did, and I’m really proud of us for that. I’m proud of how our team has battled adversity.