Caleb Farley Approaches Year 2 as His Rookie Season for the Titans

His mother, Robin, died that January, a pivotal moment in Farley’s life that strengthened the already-tight bond with his father. Shortly after his wife’s death, Robert moved in with his son in a rented home near campus.

“I just wanted him to know there was someone in his life who had always been there so he could be comfortable and not be overwhelmed by the situation,” Robert Farley, 60, said.

He bounced back well that next season, transitioning from receiver to starting cornerback, and he put up a monster campaign in 2019, earning first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors.

Before his redshirt junior season, a pivotal year in which most players know N.F.L. scouts will be watching, the coronavirus outbreak began. Farley looked around at teammates who could not remember to stick to social distancing protocols and thought about what would happen if he infected his only remaining parent.

“He was telling me, ‘Kids are still socializing and doing everything kids do, and this virus is out here killing old people,’” Robert Farley said. “‘As close as you and I are, I would hate to bring Covid home to you.’”

He became the first high-profile draft prospect to opt out, at a time when the college conferences were scrambling to enact policies for their shortened seasons. More than 150 football players eventually decided not to play in 2020, citing reasons as varied as concern for family members and worries that the delayed college season would affect their preparation for the N.F.L. draft.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/sports/football/caleb-farley-tennessee-titans.html