Clay Matthews III: From high school reserve to Super Bowl champion

Josh Koebert
July 14, 2011

Though now one of the NFL’s top defensive players – a ferocious linebacker who recorded 13.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception with the 2011 champion Green Bay Packers – Clay Matthews III wasn’t even a starter for his high school team in Agoura Hills, CA.

His father Clay Matthews Jr., a four-time Pro Bowl linebacker with 19 years of NFL experience, was his defensive coordinator and thought his son was too small to start at 6’1″ and just 165 pounds.

After high school, the only schools interested in the fledgling prospect were local community colleges.

That wasn’t good enough for youngest Clay, who comes from one of the most prestigious bloodlines in the history of the University of Southern California and football in general. Father Clay Jr. and uncle Bruce Matthews were All-Americans at USC, and both enjoyed lengthy NFL careers. Bruce, an offensive lineman who played tackle, guard and center, was selected to 14 consecutive Pro Bowls at two different positions and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007, and is now the Tennessee Titans offensive line coach. Clay III’s brother Kyle was a walk-on safety for the Trojans in 2003. Grandfather Clay Sr. didn’t attend USC, but played four seasons in the NFL during the 1950s.

With a lineage like that, Clay III wasn’t going to settle for community college. For that matter, he wasn’t going to be satisfied just making the team at USC, although even that required overcoming substantial odds. Matthews redshirted in 2004 and remained a seldom-used walk-on linebacker in 2005. Even after he received a scholarship slot in 2006, USC’s linebacking depth meant Matthews had to mostly make his impact on special teams. He rose to the occasion, though, being named USC’s co-special teams player of the year in both 2006 and 2007.

By his final year with the Trojans in 2008, Matthews had grown to 6’3″ and 240 pounds and earned a regular spot on defense, wreaking havoc in a hybrid position USC called “Elephant” where he essentially acted as a stand-up defensive end.

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Following USC’s 2008 season, where they went 12-1 and won the Rose Bowl, Matthews and fellow Trojan linebackers Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga were considered potential first-round picks in the 2009 NFL Draft. The trio were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Matthews and Cushing were eventually taken in the first round, with Maualuga going early in the second round.

Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson made defense a priority in the 2009 Draft, taking Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji with the ninth-overall pick. He continued his defensive focus by trading Green Bay’s second-round pick and a pair of third-round selections to the New England Patriots for the 26th-overall pick, which he used on Matthews.

The third-generation star made an immediate impact with the Packers, setting a franchise rookie record with 10 sacks and garnering a spot in the Pro Bowl, the first selection for a Green Bay rookie since James Lofton in 1978.

Expectations were high for the team and Matthews heading into his sophomore season, but both answered in a big way. Matthews registered six sacks in the first two weeks of the season dominated consistently through the remainder of the year, finishing amid consideration for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award. The Packers as a team won Super Bowl XLV, with Matthews forcing a key fumble in the fourth quarter.

Matthews’ rise from unheralded walk-on at USC to full-blown NFL superstar is a fascinating story to which many attribute to his late-blooming physique, but Ray Rivard of Packers’ blog Lombardi Ave points Matthews’ mind rather than his physical gifts as the key factor in his success.

“Clay Matthews’ greatest strength is his intelligence, believe it or not,” Rivard said. “As his position coach, Kevin Greene, has said over and over, Matthews has gotten to the point with his knowledge of the game that he’s able to position other players and call out what plays the offense is going to run before the ball is snapped. That’s pretty difficult to scheme against.”

Green Bay already has a veteran presence with a similar skill set in cornerback Charles Woodson, their defensive captain for the last two postseasons. With Woodson nearing retirement at the age of 34, however, it appears that Matthews is preparing to take over the leadership position on his side of the ball, expanding his already enormous role in the Packer defense.

“He is one of the hubs that makes the Packers’ defense work,” Rivard said. “You’ve got a huge defensive line that collapses the O-line, you’ve got the cornerbacks who are cover guys par excellence, you’ve got safeties that can cover the deep ball and come up and play the run, you’ve got inside linebackers who can flow to the ball and fill holes, while you’ve got Clay Matthews who can key on the ball carrier and tee-off on the quarterback from the inside and outside.”

“His speed has added a whole new dimension to the Packers’ defense the past couple of seasons. Offensive linemen simply can’t keep up to him and Matthews will blow up running backs if teams try to block with them. I’d say he’s the engine that moves the wheels.”

Matthews is just 25, and he is already a multiple-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion. Barring injury, Matthews could be one of the premier defensive players in the NFL for the next decade or more on a team that seems built for championship contention year-in and year-out.

Matthews has already shown amazing determination to rise from the kid who couldn’t start for his own father in high school to where he is now in the NFL, and that attribute should push him to continued success in the NFL. Father Clay Jr. and uncle Bruce cast long shadows following their 19-year careers, cousin Kevin is making a name for himself as a centre with the Tennessee Titans, and brother and fellow linebacker Casey was drafted in the fourth round in 2011 by Philadelphia, but Clay III may end up as the best of the bunch.

At least until Clay IV comes along.

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The Author:

Josh Koebert