This week, the Ducks face their biggest rival. An age-old tradition, the Washington game is meaningful for anyone invested in the Oregon football program. For one individual, however, the game represents something more: the long road back and the immense level of patience required to play college football.
After utilizing a redshirt in 2017, Honolulu native Isaac Slade-Matautia burst onto the scene in his second year, tallying 20 tackles through seven games, including a season-high six against the Huskies. The following week, he would leave the Washington State game with a broken collarbone.
Just like that, the linebacker’s season was over. After taking a major step forward, Slade-Matautia took two steps back.
After securing a role, he would now be forced to battle for a spot all over again under not only the new defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, but a new position coach, the former Washington State linebackers coach Ken Wilson.
On top of the change, Slade-Matautia was forced to endure weeks of rehab in a time frame he had hoped to use in other ways: gaining experience, refining his game and, most of all, adding weight.
“I came into Oregon super light for a linebacker,” he said. “So from the beginning, when I stepped foot on campus, that was always my goal. Being injured last year, I knew I had to bounce back heavily, so that was my main thing. Gaining some muscle mass and at the same time trying to stay healthy throughout this process.”
At 220 pounds, Slade-Matautia was skinny as far as inside linebackers go. Adding weight would not only improve his game on the field, but prevent future injury — an experience he was now all too familiar with.
His rehab was successful and he made the most of his offseason, a major goal for not only himself, but the entire program, in hopes of building a new culture. Throughout the offseason, head coach Mario Cristobal and his staff pushed the narrative of becoming a “fourth-quarter program” — one built on toughness, preparation and a strong mentality.
Slade-Matautia is the poster child for that.
“He’s accountable,” Cristobal said. “He’s a tough guy, and when I say tough guy, toughness to us means always being there early, doing the right things when you’re supposed to do them, even when you don’t want to do them. Making sure you’re doing things exactly the way they’re being taught. Demanding the most from others in a positive way. Doing the right things all the time is being a tough guy.”
Slade-Matautia added sufficient weight — 15 pounds to be exact — and entered 2019 as a revitalized player. As spring practices began and slowly transitioned to fall camp, he caught the attention of many.
“Isaac’s been awesome,” Avalos said early in fall camp. “He’s a competitor and he’s really, really hard on himself. He’s learning how to drive himself. He is really diligent, and he cares a lot. He has unbelievable instincts too. He gets the game, he understands the game…We’re really pleased with what he’s doing and how he’s doing it.”
Wilson’s mentality and coaching style proved to be a perfect fit for him.
“I’m giving them a clean slate, letting them play, letting them compete and earn jobs,” Wilson said of the linebacking corps during last spring’s opening practice. “With me, if I can trust them, I’ll put them on the field. I’ll play six, eight, or I’ll play two — however many I can get to trust in the defense and know what we’re doing.”
A chance was all Slade-Matautia needed.
Fast forward a few months and now he’s at the center of what Avalos and his stingy defense are doing to stifle opposing offenses week after week — allowing just 25 points through the last five contests. Through six games, Slade Matautia has recorded 27 tackles, a sack and four pass deflections, including a near-pick against Colorado.
“From the first day he stepped on campus, we watched film and you can tell he has a natural flow of the game, a natural feel at middle linebacker,” fellow linebacker Troy Dye said. “I think he runs the defense really well. He has good control and guys trust him and we all buy in to backing him and believing in him.”
Ask anybody about what he brings and you’ll see a recurring pattern. For Slade-Matautia, the game is just as much mental as it is physical.
“Mentality,” Avalos said. “Mentally, he’s a tough player and physically he’s a tough player…His growth over the course of this year has been impressive.”
Not only has he gotten bigger and stronger, but like many of his teammates, he’s become a more versatile player in the new scheme.
“He does a nice job of allowing us to be multiple,” Avalos said. “He can play off the edge, he can play in the box. He’s a good inside blitzer as well.”
Avalos and his group have been impressive, in fact, that it has put increased pressure on the defense. Seemingly every week they either break a record or are tasked with upholding a new one. When you go multiple games without allowing a touchdown, nobody wants to be the one to mess it up.
In Oregon’s game against Cal, Slade-Matautia was the one. Early in the first half, he let a touchdown pass fly over his head, failing to get his eyes around in time.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” he said. “[Giving up] that touchdown, especially since it was on me, I felt like I gave up a lot. But at the same time, the defensive leaders like Troy, Jevon [Holland], Sampson [Niu], they talk to me. ‘It happens, there’s good players out there, as long as we stick together as one defense, one unit we will have each other’s backs game by game.’”
Leadership and comradery like that are a necessity for any successful position group. With the Ducks’ linebackers though, the bond is especially strong. Whether it’s in a game, on the practice field, in the locker room or somewhere else altogether, they always have each other’s backs. They are always there to prop each other up.
“It’s like a circus in our linebacker room,” Slade-Matautia said. “We all make fun of each other if we do a bad play in practice, and at the same time, if we know it’s bad, we will help [each other] out.”
It may be a circus, but it’s a talented one. And it takes a talented coach to lead a group like that.
“[Wilson] knows how to approach everybody,” Slade-Matautia said. “Everybody has their own flaws. He knows not to come at you right away, he will work through everything with you. Tell you what’s wrong from right. He focuses a lot on the fundamentals.”
With such a diverse group both in skillset and personality, it’s important to have a patient coach.
In his third year with the team, Slade-Matautia has picked up on a lot. He sat out for a full year. Then, after steadily improving throughout his second year, was again forced to watch from the sidelines.
Now, finally, he’s getting his shot.
