 | Alex Faherty |
As the summer of 2004 headed for the dog days of August, Yale senior tight end Alex Faherty was hard at work in New Haven.
Working out regularly with a group of his teammates who had stayed in the Elm City, he was preparing himself for a move from fullback to tight end. He had rehabilitated his shoulder after surgery for a torn labrum in January. He had trimmed nearly a 10th of a second off his 40-yard dash time through voluntary workouts with Yale assistant track coach Marc Davis. He appeared primed for a breakthrough season.
Someone in Orlando, Florida, must have been watching.
At the EA Sports studios there, developers were busy putting the finishing touches on "NCAA Football 2005," the company's popular video game. Released in August, the game features every I-A and I-AA team in an extremely detailed simulation that includes rankings for each player.
While the company does not use any NCAA athletes' names, the uniform numbers and positions match up well enough for any fan to be able to identify players. The highest-ranked player on the virtual Yale Bulldogs is none other than Faherty, a 72 on a scale of 99. Considering that Yale senior quarterback Alvin Cowan -- a candidate for the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in I-AA -- is rated a 70, Faherty's mark implies some lofty expectations for a player who has only been a tight end for a few months.
"Everyone got the game the first day it came out," Faherty recalls. "Guys started telling me that I was the highest-rated Yale player, then coach [Matt] Dence started calling me '72'."
Faherty was more than happy to play up the number, although he knows that the rankings for players in this year's game were no doubt heavily influenced by last year's team stats. Last season, while Faherty was fullback, Yale's tight end was 6-foot-7 Nate Lawrie, an NFL draft pick who grabbed 72 passes for 810 yards and finished third on the school career receptions list with 116.
"There will never be another Nate Lawrie at Yale again," Faherty says. "I'm just trying to keep alive the tradition of the tight end being an important part of the Yale offense, both in run blocking and in passing."
Head Coach Jack Siedlecki and his staff feel that Faherty has some strengths of his own that could be utilized in his new role.
"He brings a lot of speed to the position," Siedlecki observes. "He's a good blocker -- obviously not as big as Nate, but we think he's going to be an interesting tight end in his own right, just with what he does well."
One player who knows what Faherty does well -- both on the video game screen and on the field -- is Cowan. The Bulldog quarterback drew some notice himself for the performance of his alter ego in "NCAA Football 2004," last year's version of the game. ESPN Radio commentator Scott Van Pelt interviewed Cowan on "The Dan Patrick Show." (Van Pelt had been playing the video game with the Yale squad and wanted to know who that Bulldog quarterback was.) Cowan appreciates his new option in the passing game.
"Alex is fast -- he's probably one of the top 15 fastest on our team, and he's got great hands," Cowan says. "That's a really hard matchup for a linebacker."
Faherty, offering his best advice for any video game players, noted that the virtual version of him is particularly effective on drags over the middle. As for the real-life version, he says to expect something different.
"I have to spread the defense," says the senior. "The coaches will use me down the field more."
Cowan adds that in addition to his physical skills, Faherty also earns high marks in areas that no video game could measure -- intangibles such as leadership and personality. The affable Faherty is described as a perfect complement to the intense, in-your-face leadership style of Cowan, last year's captain, and current captain Rory Hennessey.
"One of the things I've noticed about Alex is that he's always positive," Cowan says. "That helps. There are a lot of expectations for us as a team this year, and we need guys that can boost guys up and also keep things light."
That attitude is also appreciated by others in the athletic department, as Faherty works for Assistant Athletic Director Greg Brinn in the Community Outreach and Alumni Affairs Office and for Erin Carey in Facilities.
"Alex is always upbeat," Brinn says. "He definitely lightens the mood in the office. He's been great with the kids we have in our outreach program, and has been a real leader for that program. I've truly enjoyed working with him."
Faherty is also a perfect lead-by-example type for the football team.
"Alex is one of the hardest-working players we have," says Siedlecki. "He's worked extremely hard to rehab through the injury that he had, and the shoulder surgery, and I know he's really looking forward to a great year."
Faherty's work ethic has helped him overcome his share of obstacles, including a broken foot that caused him to miss his sophomore season and a dehydration problem that, as Siedlecki puts it, leaves the sweat pouring off him even after a simple round of stretching. During some games Faherty even has to take an IV at halftime just to replenish his fluids.
"The trainers are always forcing water and Gatorade on me," Faherty notes.
The one silver lining to the foot injury that cost him a year is that Faherty can now receive a medical waiver and gain an extra year of eligibility. He plans on being back with the Bulldogs for the 2005 season.
Faherty's return would certainly require adjustments in "NCAA Football 2006." He has changed uniform numbers this season, going from 40 to 1 as part of a general move to single-digits by upperclassmen (senior linebacker Ben Breunig went from 93 to 5 and senior linebacker Kenneth Estrera went from 94 to 7). Whether Faherty's other number -- 72 -- will change in next year's video game remains to be seen, but he is philosophical about that.
"Hopefully," he says, "they'll keep thinking I'm Nate Lawrie."
-- By Sam Rubin, Yale Sports Publicity
T H I S
Faherty tapped as Yale's top Bulldog --
in virtual world
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