Matt Breida Speaks of Humble Beginnings that Inspired His NFL Journey

Like most NFL players, Giants running back Mat Breida had visions of doing great things if he ever got a chance to play in the league.

So when Breida, who went undrafted out of Georgia Southern in 2017, got a call from the San Francisco 49ers to sign with the club, he did what he's always tried to do: seize the opportunity and make the most of it.

But before we can get into the path Breida's NFL journey has taken, it's important to understand a little bit about the man behind the facemask and how, despite whatever life threw at him, he has never backed down.

A Second Chance at Life

Breida was just a couple of days old when his birth mother relinquished her parental rights. The infant was quickly adopted by Terri and Mike Breida on March 2, 1995.

As Breida would quickly learn, there was nothing his parents wouldn't do for their children regarding providing opportunities to get ahead in life.

When Breida's parents became permanently disabled--his mother was involved in multiple car accidents while his father developed a chronic back issue that forced him to go on permanent disability--Breida was only too happy to take on more responsibility and make his parents proud.

"They gave me an opportunity," Breida told Giants Country on Monday after the Giants went through their first padded practice of the summer when asked what drives him to overcome his adversity.

"Who knows where I could have been if they didn't make that decision (to adopt)? I love them every day for that. So I wanna go out here and make them as proud as I can."

A Rising Star

Breida, who moved with his family from Hudson, Florida, to Spring Hill, played high school football for Nature Coast Technical High in Brooksville, Florida. 

He then enrolled at Georgia Southern, where in his sophomore campaign in 2014, his 1,485 rushing yards was a Sun Belt Conference best and was the second most rushing yardage by a sophomore in school history, behind Adrian Peterson.

The following year, Breida recorded 1,609 rushing yards, second best in the Sun Belt conference, and a conference-leading 17 touchdowns on 203 rushing attempts.

While Breida was lighting things up on the field, he also inspired people off of it. Breida volunteered to work with the Boys and Girls Clubs in his spare time, and regularly would visit high schools to share his inspirational story of how anyone can overcome anything if they just work for it.

"I had a brother who was better than me in football, but he chose to go down the wrong path and is in jail right now," Breida said.

"Everyone's got a choice in life on what they want to do. As soon as you know the difference between right and wrong, you start making those choices, and whatever you put your mind to, you can do in life. I don't care if you came from a rich family or a poor family--whatever you put your mind to, you can do."

An NFL Odyssey Begins

After getting to the NFL with the 49ers as an undrafted rookie free agent, Breida would finish third on the team in all-purpose yards, including 465 rushing yards and 180 receiving yards.

After Jerrick McKinnon suffered a torn ACL the following year, Breida competed with Alfred Morris for the RB1 role on the 49ers. Despite some injury issues in his second season, Breida finished as the 49ers' team rushing leader with 814 yards and was second on the team in all-purpose yards behind tight end George Kittle.

After his third season with the 49ers, Breida was traded to Miami for a fifth-round pick. Breida appeared in 12 games and ran the ball 59 times for 254 yards for Miami in his lone season.

The following year, he signed with the Bills, whose offensive coordinator was Brian Daboll, now the Giants head coach. While with the Bills, but was deployed sparingly on offense.

Breida, who at one point looked like the league's next great undrafted success story, admitted that he was disappointed in the lack of opportunity he received the last two years with Miami and Buffalo. However, his background in handling adversity head-on helped get him through and kept him believing that one day he'd get another chance.

"My whole life, people have doubted me," he said. "People probably thought I wouldn't be going undrafted in my sixth year in the NFL. I do this for my family and my parents--I want to make them proud."

A Fresh Start

Breida's undying need to make his family proud is why you'll find him religiously lifting weights after practice, keeping his head down, and doing what he needs to contribute. He takes the Giants mantra of "Be a Pro" extremely seriously.

And on those days when he might be too sore to do much of anything or wanting to kik back and relax, he pushes his way through the adversity thanks to the lessons he learned as a youth.

"Everything's not gonna go your way," he said. "You're gonna have bad days, you're gonna have good days, but you just gotta keep going. Everything's not gonna be fair in life. So you just have to fight through it and make the best out of the opportunity you can.

"I know plenty of people that would wanna play this game but are not allowed to for physical or mental reasons. They look up to us, so every time I step on the field, I ask myself if this will be my last game. I always wanna give everything I have."

Since joining the Giants, Breida is off to a good start. Although he's currently RB2 behind Saquon Barkley, Breida has run the ball extremely well both in the spring and early on in training camp, looking more and more like the perfect complement to Barkley. 

He could, in fact, find himself playing more than just a spot-duty role in this new offensive system.

"My opportunity is gonna come," Breida said. "The same thing happened at San Fran. I got my opportunity to shine. Now I'm just happy to be here. I know Coach Daboll believes in me, and I believe in him. So, you know, I just wanna do great." 

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