Matt Floberg is very much a family man.
Between a tight-knit family and a close high school football team, Floberg knew he wanted a college team that would also be a surrogate family.
That’s how a boy who grew up a Beaver Believer ended up a Duck.
“When I came on my visit here, I was looking for that closeness in my college team as well,” Floberg said. “I felt like the team here — everybody was friends with everybody, and everybody hung out. I felt like it was a true family.”
Floberg grew up in Portland, graduating in 1999 from Jesuit High School. Members of his extended family — cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents — also live in Portland, and everyone gets together for the holidays.
His parents, grandparents, uncles and one aunt all stayed in the area for college, attending Oregon State.
“My family’s really close-knit,” Floberg said. “In my entire family, there’s 11 straight kids without a break in between. Everybody’s got a best friend. My best friend is my cousin who’s one year younger than me.”
The redshirt senior and his two younger brothers grew up with football; all three played at Jesuit. Floberg’s youngest brother is in his senior year at the school.
As a Crusader, Floberg earned first-team all-state honors as a fullback and on defense his senior year. He had 23 touchdowns in his final season.
After redshirting his first year at Oregon, Floberg had one carry for three yards in one game his freshman season. As a sophomore, he played in seven games at fullback.
His junior year, Floberg started all 13 games at fullback. It was his first injury-free season as a Duck.
“I think the position kind of fits my personality — there’s not that much attention on fullback,” Floberg said. “I’m kind of like an offensive lineman, I work in the trenches. I feel like I’ve always been one to do that dirty work that nobody else wants to do — play the role that doesn’t necessarily get all the attention, but it’s important to the team.
“That’s OK with me. I don’t care about the attention — I enjoy playing for my team, and my role is to block and I’ll gladly accept that. That’s what I enjoy doing.”
Floberg’s love of football is from the camaraderie as much as the sport itself.
“Relationships on the team is probably what I enjoy most,” Floberg said. “That sense of connection you have with one another that comes from not only being friends but sacrificing together and working hard together.”
As a senior in high school, Floberg was on a Jesuit team that finished 12-1 in the state 4A semifinals. He was named Oregon’s 4A Defensive Player of the Year by The Oregonian and ranked as the top fullback in the Northwest by Superprep Magazine.
“My senior year, we were a very close group,” Floberg said. “Everybody on the team was good friends. We all hung out together. That was the best part. We were pretty successful just because we were so close.”
Floberg gets that same family feeling with his Duck teammates and said they support each other on and off the field.
His coaches and teammates consider Floberg an integral part of the Oregon squad.
“Matt brings experience, dedication and leadership,” head coach Mike Bellotti said. “He’s a solid blocker inside. Just his experience and calm demeanor are very important to us.”
The redshirt senior is spending his final season enjoying every game. He was injured for Michigan and unable to play, but said it was a close second to the 2001 Fiesta Bowl as his favorite game as a Duck.

“After each game this year, especially the Pac-10 games, I think ‘that’s the last time I’ll play Washington State or play Arizona again’ or ‘I’ll never play Stanford again,’” Floberg said. “I’ve been here a long time, so it’s kind of weird to think that this is my last opportunity.”
After fall term and football season conclude, Floberg will be an Oregon graduate. He wants to travel overseas and spend some time in Europe, joining his college-age brother who will be studying in Prague.
“Being a student athlete, I was here in the summer, so I never really had a chance to travel,” Floberg said. “After that I plan on coming back to Portland and starting my career — start being a working man, I guess.”
In between the traveling and work, chances are there will be two constants: movies and Jerry Seinfeld.
“I’m kind of a movie buff,” Floberg said. “I’ve got a reputation of knowing a lot of worthless movie and Seinfeld trivia, so people joke around and try and stump me and everything.”
Floberg’s favorite movie genres are drama — particularly organized crime movies — and straight comedy. His favorites include the first and second “Godfather,” “Casino” and “Saving Private Ryan.”
“He’s a huge movie buff and he loves ‘Seinfeld,’” quarterback and good friend Jason Fife said. “If you just give him some trivia, he eats it up. He’s just like any college kid right now. He’s trying to figure out what he wants to do and prepare himself for later on in life.”
Floberg will graduate with a degree in business administration, but he is unsure what he will do once he returns from Europe.
“I don’t exactly know what I want to do, and I think it needs a little more looking into before I decide,” Floberg said. “The one thing I would be looking for is just the ability to meet a lot of people and make a lot of connections.”
Through those connections, he’ll find a place that feels like a family.