University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Matthew Boling
August 21, 2019 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
If you're reading this then you've probably already seen the video that the Georgia football team put out on Twitter on Monday, a video that is approaching a million views as of Wednesday afternoon. The star of the video wasn't Jake Fromm or J.R. Reed or even coach Kirby Smart — the star was a Georgia track freshman, Matthew Boling.
Even Runner's World magazine's website put up a story about the two-minute video that shows Smart bringing his Bulldogs onto Spec Towns Track for a race at the end of a recent practice. It was supposed to be the coaches versus the players, but subbing in for Smart in the anchor leg of the 4x100-meter relay was none other than Boling, the fastest high school 100 runner in history.
The video shows Boling chasing down safety Richard LeCounte in the final leg, followed by Boling getting mobbed by the Bulldogs. It was far from Boling's first star turn this year, a year that has included many accomplishments and accolades, including the 100 and 200 gold medals at the Pan American Under-20 Championships last month in Costa Rica.
This is a relatively quiet period for Boling, who won't start really training again until Sept. 3, following a very busy spring and summer. The native of Houston, Texas, who has a twin brother in school at Georgia Tech, is still trying to find his way around campus, and figure out the bus system. (He was late for an interview Tuesday afternoon because he got on the wrong bus — hardly the first Georgia freshman to make that mistake.)
During our Quick Chat, Boling talked about the video, about life as a track celebrity with more than 135,000 followers on Instagram and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:Â
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day without getting tired of it?
Boling: Spaghetti — it's hard to make bad spaghetti and it's pretty healthy, so it's easy to eat.
Frierson: How much have you had to adjust your diet and think more about your diet in the past year or so?
Boling: I try to eat like every three hours or so, like during the season I'll eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and I'll eat healthy. But right now, since it's the offseason, I skipped breakfast this morning because I woke up a little bit late.
Frierson: How are you feeling here at the start of your first semester of college and on your own for the first time?
Boling: It's weird right now because track practice hasn't started so I kind of am on my own, but once track practice actually starts it's going to be a lot better.
Frierson: Do you ever see the cross-country runners out here doing their training? Do you look and say, thank heavens I don't have to do all that running?
Boling: [Laughs.] Not so much here but I watched them at home, in high school. In sixth grade I did (distance running) but I didn't like it that much.
Frierson: The video you did with the football team was obviously a huge deal, what was it like being a part of that? You're racing the last leg against Richard, who's really fast, so did you feel pressure to actually win?
Boling: A little bit. I didn't know I was going to be behind that much; everyone expected me to win, that was kind of the plan, and then when I started I was like, oh, I'm pretty far behind. It worked out well.
Frierson: What movie have you seen more than any other?
Boling: Probably "The Simpsons Movie." I bought it a while ago and I had it on my iPad, so I'd watch it sometimes on a plane ride and things like that.
Frierson: What's something creative you do, or something creative you wish you could do?
Boling: I wish I could design apps. I feel like I could have some creative ideas but I have no idea how to do it. Maybe if I find a friend here that knows how we can make a business.
Frierson: Are you a tech guy, do you get all the latest gadgets and apps and things?
Boling: I like video games but I don't know how to do anything special on my phone. Like if I get a video I want to post on Instagram, I'll usually ask a friend to download it for me.
Frierson: Is having that many Instagram followers still just a little strange?
Boling: [Laughs.] No, but sometimes, if I post something not track, people will be like, post track photos. It's like, OK. It's not a big deal.
Frierson: Do you read all the comments or have you figured out that maybe it's best if you just don't look?
Boling: It depends, if there are like 50 comments then I'll read them. But I had one with 2,000 comments, when I ran the 100, that was too much.
Frierson: If you could go anywhere in the world on somebody else's dime, where would you like to go?
Boling: I think the Galapagos Island or somewhere like that, some nice island; or somewhere where you can see the stars really clearly.
Frierson: Who's someone that inspires you on a daily basis?
Boling: My dad (Mark), because he works hard and he's really goal-oriented. Like if I get off track he will remind me of what I'm doing this for.
Frierson: What was the first thing you remember being really good at, in or out of sports?
Boling: Honestly, probably running. I didn't start track until sixth grade, but me and my brother would still play football. I'd also play little league baseball and we'd have base-running competitions and I'd win. But I was so bad at the actual sport, I couldn't play.
Frierson: I wondered after watching the football video, surely somebody commented that they needed you as a wide receiver. Did you ever play organized football?
Boling: I did in middle school for two years — I was OK. I went to a small private school so it wasn't like we were playing against D-I athletes.
Frierson: In a perfect world, what are you doing 10 years from now?
Boling: In 10 years? I'm 19 now, so hopefully, I'm still running.
Frierson: What's the best live performance you've ever seen?
Boling: I went to a 21 Savage concert with some friends my junior year; that was my first concert. It was just fun; we had to wait for a long time for him to come out and I remember Travis Scott made a surprise appearance, so that was fun.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
