Transcript: Nico & Matteo Morelli on Brotherhood, Grit, and Building a Winning Culture

Good morning and welcome back to the Late Start Show. We are here with our first interview with a pair of U.S. brothers, Nico and Matteo Morelli. With Matteo being a senior and Nico being a sophomore and both being varsity football stars, how are you Nico and Matteo? Doing great.

Excited to be here. I'm happy to be here. I'm finally happy to be on this podcast. No, it's great having you on the show.

Well, let's start at the beginning guys. So did you both start at U.S. in the lower school and then if you did, what were you guys like as you know little students here? I can go first. So I started before Nico.

I was like the test child. I went in sixth grade and I had a great experience. I was very hyper and didn't really like to focus on school but I just enjoyed the fact that there was a lot of free time and free opportunities and it didn't feel like old school. Like it didn't feel like I was just sat in a room and had to do nothing all the time or I was just told memorize this or write that down.

I actually didn't feel like I was in a room and enjoyed going to class and like building relationships and my teachers could do what they wanted and what we found interesting in class. Cool. So I started in fifth grade and it was much better. I went to Shaker and we started during COVID and just the experience was so much better and it was just a fun time and I started playing football too.

So if I didn't go to U.S. I would never play and that's obviously it's my favorite sport and what I love to do and I owe it to U.S. Well Matteo, when you were in high school, you were in high school, you were in high school, were you excited for Nico to join you or were you kind of like this is my space? No, I was thrilled.

I mean he's my best friend. Like my little brother is my best friend. I love this kid and so to have him there was huge for me because I'm always trying to leave a lasting impact on him and have him not make the same mistakes that I've made before in life and to have him learn because I've made a lot while I'm here and I'm trying to have him learn from what I've done. You know when Nico kind of going through the middle school and now even the high school, as you saw your older brother kind of go through the school, has it made it easier for you not even just on learning from his mistakes but just in general being the younger brother of Matteo?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean the kids that I know, seniors, like I wouldn't know them. Seniors last year when I was a freshman knew my name and I never spoken to them and it's all basically because of my brother and just also just having him here, the work ethic that I see in the weight room has absolutely made me a much harder worker and better in all aspects. You know, Matteo, how was it starting at the upper school after you kind of finished middle school at Shaker and you kind of left your brother over at the middle school?

What do you kind of remember about your freshman year at high school and kind of the first couple of years without him? It was weird. I really, like last year, I loved having him here. It's been such a blessing being able to be weird and one of my favorite things to do while I was here was go and watch him play in eighth grade and so it was just, it was definitely an interesting experience.

It allowed me to kind of like find myself in the middle of the school and kind of myself a little bit and find like my own path without having to worry about, you know, I wouldn't say worry, but like without having to help Nico along the way and as I've kind of figured it out and as I go on to my junior and senior year, I've really been able to help Nico and so it's just finding myself and finding like what I would need to help him with when he got here. And obviously, football is a big part of both of your guys' experiences now, but I'll tell you like when you started here as a freshman, were you big into the football program right away and what was the experience like transitioning from middle school athletics to high school? I definitely was. When I was a freshman, I didn't think varsity football would be that fast and then I was our starting kicker for, I mean, I've started since my freshman year and I was like, whoa, this is fast.

It was way faster than I had expected it to be, but nothing that I couldn't, you know, live up to or get there and so it was definitely an experience, but it just kicking was just what I wanted to do and kicking was really easy because I just, I wanted to, I wanted to be on varsity as a freshman. I wanted to start. I knew we needed a kicker and so I just taught myself how to kick. Yeah, and now that you're like one of the older upperclassmen on the team, you can kind of like lead people like Nico and some of the underclassmen, but were there any guys who when you got here kind of took you under their wing and showed you the ways?

Someone that really showed all of us that like all the seniors talk about is Ryan Patterson. We still see Patty as a gold standard. Like if you give Patty effort, have Patty intensity, have Patty fire, play like Patty, then you've played one heck of a game and you've been one heck of a leader and just having those seniors be so great to me. I mean, there are some juniors that I had a bad experience with and it almost led to me like leaving the school, quitting football and to have those seniors that had my back and I knew I could rely on and go to and that made me feel like I was part of the program and made me feel part of the team as a young, scared freshman meant a lot to me.

You know, do you remember the first time you guys were on the football field together? What was that kind of like, whether it was in a practice or a game or kind of one big moment that you guys remember? Well, well, recently we on varsity, it was my first touchdown of the year. I returned a kick, but Mateo was actually blocking for me and it was an awesome experience.

My first varsity touchdown was a kick return, but I could hear him behind me yelling at me, go Nico, go Nico, go Nico. And that's all I could hear. Normally I can't, I can't hear a soul on the field, but I could hear that through all the noise. And just to be able to play with him and have that play in particular, like you can see my, his friend's mom comes crying me after the game.

It was so sweet. I saw you, like I was getting water and Nico's our holder. So once he was on, I come flying off the bench to hug him and pick him up. I've, I was happier watching my brother score that touchdown than what I did last year on homecoming.

Like I had a better feeling watching him succeed. You know, Mateo is a senior and one of the team leaders. How do you kind of lead knowing your younger brother is watching, right? Like, do you feel an extra responsibility to set the tone because you want to be a role model for him as well as some of the other guys on the team?

I mean, it's just being a role model for everyone. It's like, for me, it shouldn't be just because Nico's, I want to set an example. Like, obviously I want to set examples. So when I'm gone, he continues that standard, but it's just a standard.

Like when you, we set a standard in December and you know, that's a standard and no matter who you are, no matter what you do, like that is a standard and that's set. And so obviously I want to set a great example for him, but he honestly sets a standard for us. He's been an amazing leader this year and really picked a lot of us up and we've been down because he just doesn't care who we play. We could walk out and play Alabama.

And I fully believe that me and him would walk up. They're like, all right, let's go win this one. And he would have the fire and energy that we need. So it's been a lot of back and forth and he's done a great job this year.

And I think I've tried to set a strong standard. And then Nico, in a couple of years, you know, you'll be a senior, potentially the team captain and Mateo will be off at college. It's not like you're a small part of the team now, like obviously you're one of our best and main players, but you know, do you ever think about what kind of leader you might want to be when you have that, those titles associated with like your roles? Uh, you know, I really don't think leadership has to be a captain.

I don't think really age. I think now I can still be the best leader I can be. And I really hope that, I'll be as good of a leader as Mateo said Patty was. And I'll set that example for all the kids younger than me and hopefully make our program great in the future.

Yeah. You know, let's talk about the college recruitment as a, in any high school athlete, you kind of look towards the college recruitment kind of period and that whole journey as difficult. I mean, it's a difficult journey. I've never personally been through it, but from hearing other people's kind of experiences with it, it's been a long journey.

What's kind of been that journey for both of you, obviously Mateo, your senior year, you're kind of going, like you're kind of at the very tail end of it versus Nico, you're kind of looking to what that college recruitment process looks like for you. So what are kind of both of your stories when it comes to that process? It is a long, long, grueling process and it has not been easy for me personally. I mean, I worked, so I went to camps, a bunch of camps the summer before my junior year, got noticed by a few places and then played well enough this, uh, that season to get invited to a bunch of visits and junior days and then invited to camps.

And I, in the first camp of the summer had a grade two hamstring partial tear, and that really like threw a wrench in it because everyone wanted to see you in person. Like the big camp that I had circled was Ohio and Western Kentucky for me, because I really wanted to go to OU and WKU would have been a huge offer and probably a place I would have liked to go to as well. And to not be able to do that made, has made this process really hard. Like I haven't really talked to OU or WKU, but there's also a light at the end of that tunnel.

I still went on a few visits, um, after getting hurt and I'm still getting recruited by a lot of different places coming out of that injury. And so just, it's a long process. Everyone's are asking. I said, it's a long grueling process.

You have the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. And that feeling when you get the first one, that first offer is the greatest feeling in the world. And then Nico, like looking forward to your process. Yeah.

If you do want to play in college, um, what are you most looking forward to or about that? I definitely want to play in college and, you know, just being a sophomore as a freshman, I went to a few camps, you know, there's not really much you can do as a freshman. You don't have varsity film and unless you're a freak athlete or have a crazy arm, you can't really get an offer as a freshman, but you know, just sophomore year, I went a few camps, you know, I went to a couple of medic camps. I went to, uh, some Ivy camps and like those, but it's really putting film.

It's less about the actual camps and just getting game film and letting coaches see view. And I've started to do that so far and hopefully that'll pick up and I'll, I'll get some more recognition from coaches. Yeah. And let's shifting from kind of football to the academic side of us.

It's a not easy academic academically. Uh, it's a rigorous place, especially being an athlete and, um, like you guys are. How do you balance being student athletes? Um, I think a lot of that growth came in my sophomore year.

Um, I had a really tough, uh, chemistry class. Uh, I'm sure as many, like I had Dr. Sobo and that really taught me how to essentially like be able to teach myself things and how to give that extra effort and how to really structure my time. You know, I sat down with Mr.

Redwanski, not knowing what to do. And I started using my planner and I still use it today. I write my schedule on the right side. And then I write by class what I have to do.

And I have like that little dopamine kick of checking it off when I finish it. And that really helps me being organized and just honestly building schedules. Like I thought it was so stupid as a freshman. I thought, oh, it's not that bad.

I'll just use my us. And as I've gone on, like those planners are really, really helpful and they make a lot of difference in knowing what I can do. And when I'm most busy, I even put like how long I think something's going to take next. So I can prioritize what I need to get done and also write at home, at home, free period, second free or opposite lunch on there to know when I can actually do things.

So just making plans using my planner. For me, I mean, I just came in freshman year, you know, I kind of just, I thought it was going to be a little bit harder than eighth grade, but I didn't really expect it to be as hard as it was. And I didn't do great. You know, there's always room for improvement and I want to do better, but I didn't do terrible, you know, I got by and this year, you know, I've been definitely a lot more locked in, but I mean, this week, I don't think I've done any schoolwork at all.

I've watched film the entire week, you know, cause we have Gilmore and I've been, I've been locked in besides this week, basically. I think one of my favorite quotes from coach K is like, there's certain like your student athletes, but there's certain days and certain weeks where your, your athletes do. This week definitely means more. And obviously this is going to come out next week.

So hopefully. Hopefully we'll win, but yeah, this is the, this is an athlete student coach, a lot of tools, freshman year, you guys have been student athletes for 10 weeks as we were going to the playoffs. So he has been student athletes for 10 weeks. It's time to be an athlete student.

You know, going to kind of being that student, what's been your favorite class or that one teacher that at the end of the day, you just remember, and you kind of feel like you can really lean on Dr. Folds and Mr. Richmond, uh, last year, those have been two of my favorite classes by far. Dr.

Folds is an amazing history. He's an amazing teacher, also just an amazing person. And every day, like the energy he brought, I feel like would make, would make me a better student would wake me up, would get me ready for the day. And I never felt unprepared for anything.

He always prepared us. And he was reasonable too. He would call us out when we were being unreasonable. And he would, he said, like, I would never ask you to do something that I myself wouldn't do.

And so having that teacher and being able to have like difficult conversations of what was going on or political climate, what's going on in the country made a huge difference. And then just Mr. Richmond, you know, he was like, you know, he was like, you know, he was like, you know, he was like, you know, and then just Mr. Richmond, just an amazing guy.

Um, a great teacher. The first time I've truly enjoyed being in a math class. I mean, it was like, it was, it was serious. Like we did a lot of math, but it was always fun and enjoyable.

And we'd always laugh and it was a really good group. And he's a great teacher. And just having another person that I could ask questions about football and football recruitings, he played at Penn and what his experiences were like meant a lot to me as well. I mean, I've definitely loved all my teachers here, but one that stood out this year was Samuel Burnett.

And my second year of Spanish at the upper school, it's, I didn't really enjoy Spanish last year. You know, I kind of just got by and I'm not a huge second language guy, but, uh, Senor Brunette has just made it so much more fun and super interactive. And it's been truly fun to actually learn the Spanish language. No, I have to shout out Senor Brunette too.

That was the first time like him I've ever enjoyed Spanish. I've hated my Spanish classes up until then. I just not enjoyed it and just not felt like studying because I hated it. And it was the first time I felt like I actually understood the Spanish language.

And it was the first time I felt like I actually understood the Spanish language. And it was the first time I felt like I actually understood the Spanish language. And could communicate. Like we went on vacation to Costa Rica and I felt like I could actually understand what was being said and what was going on because I enjoyed his class so much and actually focused.

You know, something that's really cool about this episode is just like me and Jack, you guys are also both a part of McKinley House. So Mateo, what's it like having your brother in the same house? Do you guys kind of have a shared memory of a house event throughout the years or some sort of thing that has brought you guys together through the house competitions? I think just we're both really competitive.

Yeah, we don't like losing and so just competing on Founders Day. But being in the same house was really nice, you know, just having my brother in there. Like, I love doing things with Nico, like I've said before, he's my best friend. So I love doing stuff with him and being the same.

I mean, when I was at the lower school and here's at Everschool is definitely super cool to come see my brother up at the Everschool and compete with him. So that was pretty fun and nice to see him. Yeah, well, you know, I have a brother here at US too and our relationship has definitely evolved and we've grown closer, grown closer over the years. How has your guys' relationship kind of evolved over the time that you've been able to share here?

And are you guys, I mean, you seem like closer now than ever. No, I think for sure become even closer and especially with him being more of just like, just he's kind of like grown up a little bit and kind of like been able to match kind of like just the maturity a little bit, like been in high school. Like when I was a sophomore, he was in eighth grade. So it was a little odd, but it was out there, like some of the stuff, but like I will, I actually enjoy hanging out with my brother, like going and doing stuff.

Like we went to a homecoming together last weekend and it was an amazing time and I loved spending that time with him. And so just building that relationship, you know, being in high school has been awesome having there. Yeah, definitely like just hanging out with my brother, you know, he whacked me in the forehead when I was younger a lot of times, but you know, over the years we've gotten a lot closer and you know, we're normal brothers. We fight all the time, but you know, it doesn't really stop us.

From still like being close and it doesn't really matter what fight we'll still be good. Yeah. Well together, you guys have made a name for yourselves here at us for sure. How do you guys want people to remember, you know, the Morelli brothers after both of you guys have graduated?

Hard work. Um, I mean, I came into us, no expectations for football and really doubting myself academically and kind of hating myself for what it was as a person. So much in these past four years, like I owe so much to my teachers, my coaches, especially coach Alvarez coach and coach Kennedy. And just to have those people in my life to make me the person I am today.

Just, I want to remember that I, that I gave everything I had all the time, you know, coach will Boston says it takes everything or it takes all of all of us. And I want, like, I gave my all to everything I did as a dog. I just want people to see Morelli's interesting. Yeah.

Those guys were that good. They were those people. And just to know that our name would be like, uh, almost a standard that people would hold themselves to. That's what I really want to establish.

You know, imagine you guys could go back in time and give some advice to younger selves. Mateo, what would you tell ninth grade Mateo walking up into the upper school? And Nico, what would you, what would you tell yourself at the beginning of last year? Run track, play tight end receiver is not your future.

My friend, you need to run track and play tight end now. Um, just again, use your planner, focus on school, but run track, play tight end, listen to coach K. He's usually right. I don't think he's ever been wrong.

I say usually, but I honestly can't find a time where coach K has been wrong. Um, probably eat, definitely eat, gain some weight and, uh, focus on school a little more, pay more attention in class. Speaking of eating your guys's mom has a culinary business. Uh, shout out mom.

Um, but tricks in the kitchen, shout out tricks in the kitchen. Everyone go follow on Instagram and get your, uh, Trixie, uh, power balls, their peanut butter protein balls. So does she make that food for you guys? I mean, you guys must be eating pretty well.

Oh yeah. I mean, um, everything you see her posts is eaten by me and him immediately. We always wait. I love, I mean, she's been cooking like that or she's been cooking around like that kind of level, just as long as we've been alive and like she finally started posting about it and, you know, coming home from practice, you know, being tired, having gone through a long practice, just coming home and knowing that you're gonna eat good food at a leap meal every time is, is, is, is really a blessing.

And if we don't like it leftovers from yesterday is probably even better. So very good gig being a taste tester. You know, guys, is there anyone you kind of want to shout out for helping you along the way? Obviously you guys are in two different kind of parts of your high school career, but there must be people that you want to kind of thank you for thanks for kind of bringing you along the journey.

So firstly, for me, I want to thank coach Alvarez. Um, I was really struggling freshman year. I hated myself. I hated who I was.

I just, I hated everything. And his belief in me as a freshman and his belief to be that I could be great. I mean, changed my life. Like there, my dad sent me one day, there'll be people that you look back on.

He was like, that person really changed my life. And he's someone who's truly changed my life. Um, coach Kennedy, he's always believed in me, no matter what. I mean, I've coming back from my hamstring injury, it was a 10 to 11 week process.

And I played our first game off three days of practice and coach K has still been there saying he believed in me and trusted me and that's meant the world. Um, obviously my friends, I mean, I wouldn't be able to do any of this. I love playing football with them. My brother who always holds me to a standard.

I've always told him since the beginning, you need to hold me to the same standard. I'm going to hold you. And then our sponsor, Mr. Strachan.

I mean, like sometimes Mr. Strachan is hate and you can't, that man is the goat. Like he, he, he has moved heaven and earth for me and has done whatever he's can to help the kids in our sponsor group. So whenever there's anything about Mr.

Strachan, Mr. Strachan, that he's an amazing person and he's, he's helped me when I've needed him the most. And then just like, like Ms. Coy, um, our parents have been friends for a long time and just having someone that I can trust and rely on is amazing.

And then last, last one, I'm saying a lot here, but there's just so many people have changed my life. Ms. Radwanski, I couldn't have done any of this without her. I mean, she has helped me through every single academic peak and low, low Valley and just been an amazing person.

And so I'm just so grateful for her. I mean, I still go into her office to study because I know that if I need anything, she's there to help. I mean, you covered a lot, you know, Ms. Coy, Mr.

Strachan, Mr. Radwanski, all of them, coach K and then this year, uh, coach Stevenson, our new offensive coordinator, he's completely changed the way that I see football and has made me an exponentially better player this year. And it's just great to see results finally coming in. And one last person, me, coach Henderson.

Um, really close to coach Steven. He's changed my life. I would go to war for him any day of the week. So the sacrifices he's made for me and Nico and do anything he can help us.

I'm eternally grateful for. Well, finally, one of our last questions we ask our guests every single episode is, what is the most important thing you've ever done for your team? What's your what is your, what motivates you guys to get up every day, work hard, whether it's in the classroom or the field or just kind of anywhere else and get through kind of some of those tough times? I mean, I could say like the easy cop-out answer of, oh, just football, but it's mainly just be great.

I mean, my whole life I've been trying to be great, be great at something, be great. And so just that opportunity to be great every day and to just, to just be great. I mean, honestly, I just want to be remembered for something. Yeah.

No, I mean, watching my parents, how hard they work for me and how hard my dad and my mom worked. I just, I can't accept failure for them. And I have to be great to show them that they're doing something right. And they're not doing it for nothing.

And whether it's football or school, you know, I want to be great in all of it. Well, Nico and Matteo, it's been great having you on the show today. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your stories and experiences with us and to our listeners. Thank you so much for tuning in and we'll hopefully join us next Wednesday for the next episode of the Late Start Show.

Thank you guys.