Every newcomer to the 2019 Arizona State team was recruited with a certain purpose and in that sense; Nolan Matthews is no different from his fellow incoming freshmen. What may set the tight end a bit different though than his fellow classmen, is the fact that he was pursued with the notion of being a significant aspect of a Sun Devil offense that was truly going to increasingly feature the tight end in its passing attack.
When Matthews started playing tight end at a young age, it was done out of necessity to get on the field by any means possible. The Arizona State freshman describes how he has embraced a position many players pass on, and expectations he feels from the ASU coaches to hit the ground running and truly showcase the range of capabilities of that role in the 2019 offense.
“Growing up in Georgia I used to watch Michael Vick all the time when I was very young four of five years old. Even when I moved to Texas I still watched him a lot and that used to really be who I wanted to emulate. I used to have all his jerseys, and I would put his jerseys on and try to recreate all of his moves like the fake spin. That was the first time I really started loving football.
“Quarterback was the first position I ever played. I actually played quarterback up until my freshman year of high school. It helped me a lot in the transition to tight end because that is also a position where you have to really know everything. You have to know what everybody’s job is and know what everybody is doing. You need to know what the offensive tackle’s doing and where he’s supposed to go and what man he’s blocking, and if he doesn’t block him what I need to do…so playing quarterback also helped me with multi-tasking and looking at the defense and knowing where to run the routes and where’s the weak spot on the defense.
“When I was a freshman we had a lot of quarterbacks that came in, and I just wanted a chance to play early. So I decided to ask my coach if I could move to receiver. Because I was athletic, they moved me over there, and then in the spring going into my senior season I moved to tight end.
“A lot of players don’t like the tight end position and don’t like to play there. When I was younger, I was the same way. I was saying ‘oh, tight end just blocks, they’re offensive linemen.’ and most kids don’t really want to be an offensive lineman because they want to play a skill position. They see that the offensive linemen don’t really get the credit. But playing the position what I’m seeing now is that yeah playing tight end you have to block, but you’re also a lot more open because you can fake a block and get open easier, and there are just a lot more things you can do from that position. You can be a quarterback’s security blanket. You’re a big body, and when they get into trouble, they can find you easily. So, I feel that if more people would just give the tight end a chance, it can be a position that would be a lot bigger than it is.
“I didn’t have any offers until January or February of my junior year going into my senior year. I wanted to play in college, and I knew what I could do it. One of my coaches, Javon Harris, who played safety at OU, said if I just moved to a different position, that I’m prototypical tight end size already in the NFL. So with my receiver background, it would be a game-changer move. So, I just took a leap of faith and moved to tight end. I loved it and never looked back.
“First time I contacted by ASU it was coach Fisher. He direct messaged me and asked me where my practice was, and he came in to see me practice. After he watched me, he called up (ASU, tight ends) coach Yantis and he told him that he needed to come down and see me. So, then coach Yantis came down and then that’s when he offered me. Coach Yantis told me all about the school because I really didn’t know that much about it. Then he told me about Herm Edwards, and my mom was saying ‘oh, Herm Edwards,’ and it was as if she knew more about Herm Edwards than I did. I just remember watching him on NFL Live on ESPN but I didn’t realize that he had played how good he was in the NFL as a cornerback and as a coach and the connections he has. I went on YouTube and saw everything, him talking to the Alabama players, the (NFL) rookies. I also saw coach AP (Antonio Pierce) there, and then I remember watching him in the Super Bowl. Coach Yantis told me that if I really wanted a chance to go to the NFL that Arizona State is the place to be, because they have the most NFL experience in college football coaching wise, and that’s really what sold it for me.
“When you talk to other teams you can tell they’re college head coaches. When I talked to Herm Edwards, I really liked his mind and the way he speaks. It’s just like an NFL mindset. He told me straight that ‘other coaches believe freshmen should wait and they should need time to develop,’ and all this and then he told me after I went on my visit that ‘the best players are going to play, I don’t care if you’re a freshman, I don’t care if you’re a senior or junior. If it’s close between an old guy and a young guy I’m going with the young guy because it shouldn’t be close.’
“And then he proved it whenever he started (freshmen linebackers) Merlin (Robertson) and Darien (Butler) and other freshmen. So, that proves what he told me. His thing wasn’t about politics or who’s older and who’s been in the program the longest. If you’re the best player you’re going to play, and that was a big thing that stood out to me.
“You see the New England Patriots draft N’Keal Harry and they never drafted a wide receiver in the first round (under Bill Belichick) and they have never taken a wide receiver that’s from ASU. Herm Edwards is really close with Bill Belichick. And many people don’t know but Herm scheduled ASU’s Pro Day around the NFL coaches’ meeting and the owners meeting that was being held in Scottsdale. So, he had the inside track, he had talked to them and knew that all the owners, all the coaches were going to be in Scottsdale. No other coach would have done that. And that’s just how he was thinking ‘I’m getting all of the people I know in the NFL and I want all my ASU players to be seen. He wants everybody to first get an education and then if they are good enough have a chance to be able to go to the NFL.
“(Offensive coordinator) coach Likens and coach Yantis, as well as coach Herm all, told me that they wanted to get the tight ends more involved in the offense. This past year, most of the time, N’Keal had moved to ‘Y’ (wide receiver position) in most of the formations. Whenever he was in the slot, that was the ‘Y’ position, they just put him in there because the trust at the time that they had with the tight ends wasn’t where they wanted it to be. So, that just shows me that they want to use the tight end in the passing game and get them involved. I know they have a lot more trust for the tight end group now with Tommy (Hudson), Curtis (Hodges), and all of them did a great job in the Spring. I think I can come in and just use my athleticism, my receiver background, my size, my quickness for my size, and speed, to help the offense.”
“When the coaches said that ‘we’re bringing you here so you can be that receiving tight end that we need’ I view it as a compliment. I don’t really see it as pressure. It’s more of pressure only if that’s what you make of it. I just feel that I have to go in, do my job, and be the player they recruited me for. I don’t want to let any of the coaches down, or let any of the players down. So if they brought me in to be the receiving tight end, and be one of the best tight ends in the Pac-12 and in the country then that’s what I want to go in there and do. If you think it’s pressure then there’s going to be pressure, but I feel like it’s more of a job to just go in there, earn my playing time and do what they brought me there to do.
“Playing high school in a state like Texas is big time and can help prepare you for college football. It’s that huge. From the time you’re little, you know how big it is. There are parents fighting over little kids and where they are going to play. I remember there was a fight at my eighth-grade football game. Crazy stuff where kids are transferring, coaches are paying for their apartments…and then you’re playing in front of 5,000, 10,000 people… that’s scary as a high school freshman and you’re playing sometimes against kids who are four years older than you. You have the state championship games in Cowboys stadium and it’s sold out. It’s crazy to think that high schoolers can sell out an NFL stadium. It’s ridiculous. I don’t think there’s any state that can compete with Texas high school football.
“I think playing high school football in Texas helped me recruiting-wise. I wasn’t the biggest recruit early on. I didn’t get any offers until the end of my junior year. But I think coming from Texas boosted me in the rankings because I was playing against the top competition and you see better competition than a lot of other players do. The people who aren’t that good in Texas would be stars in other states, and the people who are really good in Texas are some of the best players in the nation. The schemes are a lot more complex, and like I said they are a lot of fans at the games, the stadiums are bigger...I feel that playing in Texas helps you to not get so caught up in who I’m playing against, or where I’m playing. I'm used to just blocking everything out and just have tunnel vision when I'm out there playing.
“When I decided to commit to ASU, it was all about the family atmosphere. When I saw that, that’s when it all became clear that I knew I was supposed to come here. I came with one of my best friends, my brother (and fellow ASU freshman) Jordan Kerley. I went on my official visit with him, and we talked about it afterward and we agreed that this is where we need to be. We took our official visit to TCU together and the whole time there, we were comparing it to Arizona State, and we knew exactly where we wanted to be, and that’s why we committed to ASU on the same day, on July 4th.
“We loved how the players reacted with the coaches. Arizona State was the only place where the players actually enjoyed being around the coaches. It wasn’t as if you heard them say that after they were with the coaches at the facility and that they never want to hang out with them afterward. You could tell the coaches actually cared for their players. I went to other schools and the players would talk bad about the coaches, and nobody talks bad about any coach at Arizona State. The players love them, and they were just real. They didn’t care about recruits coming in and putting up a façade for them. They acted the same way whenever I went on my official visit, as they did when I came back to Tempe for a game or whenever I actually showed up randomly for a visit. I could go into coach Herm’s office whenever because the door’s always open. A coach is never bigger than the players or the school - I can’t even describe how great it is.
“Coach Yantis is really deep in his faith, and that was a big thing for me. He’s really honest and he puts it all out there and doesn’t sugarcoat anything. I asked the players about him and they said he was the same way with them. He doesn’t really yell, he doesn’t really cuss…he doesn’t do any of that. He’s just a good man and I know he will be a good coach for me. He knows so much about the game, and I know I wanted to play for somebody who would not only shape me as a football player but also as a man and push me to be the best man I can be.
“This year my goal is just to come in and be the best player I can be. I want to help us win in any way possible, playing on special teams…whatever they ask me to do, just come in and help our team win. I don’t really get into what kind of stats I expect and all that because why like put a limit on what you can do? I don’t really worry about being the youngest guy out there. I know all the tight ends and all the receivers and everybody on offense are upperclassmen. I feel like my play should just speak for itself.
“I want to stake my claim and just let people know that I’m here. I was kind of slept on in the recruiting process, and I want to let people know that I am the best tight end in my class and it shouldn’t even be close. I don’t want people to see me and say ‘oh yeah he’s a freshman,’ I want them to see me play and say ‘oh dang, are you sure he’s a freshman?”
Chris Gleason contributed to this article
Join us on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, to discuss this article and other ASU football and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today here and join your fellow Sun Devil fans!
