Roughing the Passer
As Oregon wraps up practice on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, Jerry Matson can be seen racing around the field.
The senior middle linebacker is one of the Ducks’ best defensive players, but at the moment, he’s not chasing down a quarterback or smashing a running back in the “A” gap.
Instead, No. 52 is sprinting down field during a special teams drill with the same passion that he displayed as a member of the scout team in 2000.
Matson’s rise from hard-nosed walk-on to starting middle linebacker was a climb driven by the kind of passion that Oregon needs to turn its season around.
Despite being an All-State linebacker at Washington’s Kamiak High School, Matson didn’t receive any scholarship offers to his liking. While weighing his options of where to walk on, Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti helped make Matson’s decision a little easier.
“It was five years ago that I watched (Matson) on film, and our coaches were undecided about Jerry,” Bellotti said. “He had not been offered scholarships by the schools he wanted. I watched him on film, and I watched a guy who ran very well and played with passion and I said, ‘let’s bring him in.’”
Matson’s desire to play was evident during his first year at Oregon. The Kodiak, Alaska, native was named scout team defensive player of the week on four occasions, taking the old-school approach of a player paying his dues on the practice field before cracking the starting lineup.
Early in his career, Matson was so eager to make plays that coaches had to tell him to tune it down.
“He was actually too overanxious on defense,” Bellotti said.
“He would overrun things because he wanted to make plays. We
actually had to slow him down
and train his eyes.”
As Matson improved, his playing time increased. He stepped into a starting role during his junior year and finished with 81 tackles and an interception, which he returned for a touchdown against UCLA.
Being named a starter on defense only made Matson push harder.
His work on special teams and countless hours in the weight room are evidence that the 6-foot-1,
225-pounder is an athlete determined to maximize his abilities.
“He’s one of those guys that comes to work with a full lunch pail everyday,” Bellotti said. “(He) puts in work, does extra work, never questions anything and is a great example to others.”
Matson’s tremendous lower-body strength — he can squat 515 pounds — provides the power needed to be one of the Pacific-10’s hardest hitters. If there were any questions about how hard Matson could hit, they were laid to rest when he demolished Oregon State kick returner Harvey Whiten during the 2003 Civil War. The collision was so violent that
it knocked Whiten cold and ended up on SportsCenter’s “Top 10” plays of the day.
Now a senior, Matson’s love of the game is more apparent than ever. His passion is evident on and off the field. Just talking about football causes the broad-shouldered run-stuffer to get excited.
“(Matson) plays the way he talks,” Bellotti said. “When Jerry talks to you, he gets going faster, faster and faster; it’s almost like he’s a runaway train. By the end he can barely keep the words separate.”
“But that’s the excitement factor about his passion for football. He has been, for two years, one of the most respected players on the team.”
With Oregon underachieving after two games, Saturday’s showdown with Idaho is a must-win for the Ducks. Matson’s leadership qualities were evident when he said defeating the Vandals means more than just putting a “one” in the win column.
“We’re hungry, and we’re looking for a win,” Matson said. “I want to get a win for us and show these people in the town (of Eugene) and the young guys on the team what it’s like.”
If Oregon is to turn its season around, Matson’s over-achieving personality will need to rub off on the rest of the team. If the Ducks can maximize their talent, they can put the rough start behind them and focus on competing for a Pac-10 Conference title.
And it’s up to Matson and the rest of Oregon’s leaders to remind the team that a successful season turnaround starts with a win over Idaho.
“At this point,” Matson said, “we refuse to go into the league at 0-3.”
