This is another edition of the Biz of Football’s “Five Questions With” series which interviews people from all parts of the world of football in order to get a perspective on the game from every angle.

Matt Bassuener is currently the starting quarterback for the Louisville Fire of the Arena2 League. (The Fire are currently 4-3).

Bassuener is a rookie to the arena style of football and admits to changing much of his game to be able to play in the league.

He had an interesting college career as he started in Mexico where his team won the equivalent of the NCAA championship, and then transferred to Georgetown where he faught for a starting spot.

Topics of the interview include Bassuener’s college career, life in the minor leagues of football and where he sees himself going during his career on the football field.

Bill Jordan for the Biz of Football: Could you talk about your experience as the quarterback of Georgetown?

Matt Bassuener: I actually had my position changed to defensive back the first day I got to camp when I arrived at Georgetown, so becoming the quarterback was a bit of an uphill battle. Being a transfer out of a school in Mexico I was sort of an anomaly coming in and I had to earn my stripes. I moved back to quarterback during spring ball that first year, but they moved me from the position again after summer workouts. After struggling through half a camp as a receiver and then spending some time again at safety I was finally allowed to move back to quarterback for good after the team had one quarterback quit the team and the starter suffer an injury. My junior year, after beginning the season second-string, I took over the starting job around game five and kept it the rest of my career. The two seasons I had in that role were frustrating in many ways, because even though at times it felt like we were making progress, we never managed to turn the program around. As a quarterback, a lot of that has to fall on your shoulders and I wish I had been able to do something more.

BizBall: What specific tactics did Georgetown use to recruit you?

Bassuener: The recruiting process was unique for me both because I was transferring and because I was coming from an international school. I had been lightly recruited by Georgetown during my Post-Graduate year at Western Reserve Academy, but when I entered college in Mexico the coach who had been recruiting me left the program. During my year in Mexico, I contacted all the coaches I could from the schools that had been talking to me the previous year, but didn’t end up getting any offers outside of the one from Johns Hopkins that I already had from the beginning. The staff at Georgetown knew about me, but I got into the school on my own and walked-on to the team. The summer before I entered I wasn’t even sure they were going to invite me to camp, and I didn’t actually end up hearing until I got a call from the coach the day before. He said to get out there as fast as I could, so I quit my job the next morning and was on a plane that night.

BizBall: What one thing did your head coach (Kevin Kelly) teach you at Georgetown that you will always remember?

Bassuener: One day when I finish playing I would like to get into coaching. At Georgetown my time was split between two different coaching staffs. While there were definitely things I liked that we did under the first staff, I learned a lot from the changes Coach Kelly made when he arrived. He brought a very disciplined, structured, and workman like style to his coaching tactics. Many times it challenged me, and while it definitely wasn’t easy to play under that style, I think it’s efficient. I’m sure if I ever become a coach I will mimic a lot of the things I learned from Coach Kelly.

BizBall: What's special about the atmosphere of your Arena League?

Bassuener: I’m really enjoying Arena Football. As a quarterback I guess it’s hard not to like getting to throw the ball all game and frequently scoring in the 60’s. The atmosphere is also cool though because being in an arena the fans are always right on top of you, so there’s much more interaction with them during the course of a game than you’d imagine. I also think Arena Football has great fans. It’s actually written in our contract that we have to be available to fans after every game, so some people come because their kids like to be around us which is funny at times, but also flattering I guess. For the most part though, people that come to Arena games all just really love football. They’re the people that couldn’t get enough in the fall, so they need that fix in the spring and summer. It’s awesome to be around people like that.

BizBall: How do you think the Louisville Fire will do during the rest of the season?

Bassuener: I think we have the potential to go as far as we’re willing to take ourselves this season. We have enough talent to play with anybody and when we play mistake free football I don’t think anybody can stop us. It just comes down to whether or not we stay level headed and keep coming together as a team.

BizBall: What did you have to change about your game to play the Arena League style of football?

Bassuener: The biggest differences for me were just becoming accustomed to having a high motion man and learning how to read the different coverages in this game as opposed to the outdoor game.

BizBall: Where do you want to go from here? (Are you looking for an entire career in the Arena League, or do you want to try for the NFL?)

Bassuener: I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still have dreams of being in the NFL, but at this point that’s still a long ways off. I just want to keep getting better and hopefully that will get me to either the AFL or CFL relatively soon. Then from there who knows, but for now I’ll just focus on this week’s Arena 2 game.

For more entries into the “Five Questions With” series check here, here and here.

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