Matakevich fields call from Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin

[Shoes]

For his entire football-playing life, Tyler Matakevich has had the ability and the opportunity to make something happen, to turn a bad situation into a good one.
Matakevich never felt less in control than when the 6-foot, 240-pound linebacker was waiting in his Stratford home for the phone to ring on Saturday.
It was day three of the NFL Draft, and the former St. Joseph of Trumbull star and Temple University standout watched the ticker tape at the bottom of his television screen read off the names of the chosen.
His wasn’t among them, as the rounds went by, fourth, fifth, sixth…
“I was down,” Matakevich said of his spirits before getting the phone call from the Pittsburgh Steelers that put his career on a new path.
“I had over one hundred family and friends with me, and it (not having his name called) was disheartening. Then my dad pulled me aside and told me that no matter what happened it would be all right.”
Matakevich had no sooner sat back down when the room got quiet. The phone was ringing.
On the phone answering his hello was Mike Tomlin, head coach of the Steelers.
“He said we look forward to having you,” Matakevich related. “We think you’ll be a perfect fit and you’ll get an opportunity to compete.”
Matakevich was the 246th selection in the 2016 NFL Draft and the 26th pick of the 7th round.
“It was unbelievable,” St. Joseph head coach Joe Della Vecchia said of the moment. “Everything was very quiet when Tyler answered the phone. He walked away and then came back and with a big grin on his face and said — “Steelers.”
Matakevich won the Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik awards as the best defensive player in the country last season. Temple’s all-time leading tackler with 493 stops, he became the first Temple defensive player to earn first-team All-America honors.
Matakevich would have had a chance to play in the NFL by going the free agent route, and had received several phone calls showing team’s interest before he got the one call he wanted.
“Free agency was definitely an option, and getting a chance to play in the NFL was still there for me,” Matakevich said. “By the same token, the biggest thing for any college athlete is to hear your name called. To have Coach Tomlin from the Steelers give me a call is a thrill.”
“Tyler is a special player,” Temple head coach Matt Ruhle said on OwlSports.com. “He will play in the NFL for many years and will make the Steelers very happy. He gets credit for being a play-maker and being very instinctual, but what people don’t see is that he spends a lot of time studying film. He’s a football junkie and he will fit right in in Pittsburgh.”

http://www.trumbulltimes.com/2016/04...h-mike-tomlin/

[GBMelBlount]

Nice story & best wishes to Matakevich. I grew up in Trumbull.

[SteelerFanInStl]

I'm more excited about this pick than any 7th rounder that I can remember. This kid is a player and not only is he going to make the team, he's going to get noticed.

[Psycho Ward 86]

would be great if he becomes the heir apparent to Timmons

[SteelerFanInStl]

would be great if he becomes the heir apparent to Timmons

I don't know if he'll ever become a starter but you can guarantee that he'll work his ass off and always give 100%. I'm definitely rooting for him and I hope that he shows all of the teams that passed on him that he can play in the NFL.

[Mojouw]

Goodness. Can you imagine the hue and cry from Steeler nation if the scrappy linebacker doesn't make the final cut? ohhhh my. I might have to avoid the internet for like a week.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Matakevich more than just a 40-time

By Mike Prisuta

Award-winning LB doesn't test well but he can play.

Tyler Matakevich has the Bednarik Award and the Nagurski Trophy on his mantle, but he doesn’t have his sister’s physical skill set.

“My sister got all the speed,” Matakevich acknowledged after his first practice with the Steelers at rookie minicamp. “She ran track in college.

“I got the other genes.”

That didn’t stop the linebacker from Temple from collecting the Charlotte Touchdown Club and the Football Writers Association of America’s hardware awarded annually to the nation’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player (the Nagurski), and the Maxwell Club’s honor reserved for college football’s Defensive Player of the Year (the Bednarik).

But at 6-foot and 238 pounds, Matakevich still didn’t quite measure up to the NFL Scouting Combine metrics recorded by inside lineacker Reggie Ragland. Ragland was drafted in the second round by Buffalo (41st overall).

The Steelers took Matakevich with their second selection of the seventh round (only seven players were drafted after Matakevich).

“I think they thought I was going to be a 5.0 guy,” Matakevich said. “Running a 4.8, that’s what I am. You can’t teach speed.”

Matakevich intends to prove he can play, anyway.

“I’m just going to use my game, my knowledge and my preparation to make up for it,” he continued. “When you look at the numbers, yeah, I’m not the fastest guy. But when you turn on the film, I’m all over the place.

“I’m not 6-2. I don’t run a 4.3, a 4.4. I just have to use what I have to be successful. I think I did that at Temple. People keep questioning, can he do it at the next level? But I’ve been questioned my whole life.”

Matakevich made 493 career tackles at Temple and in 2015 he was the only player in FBS to lead his team in tackles in every game.

In addition to collecting trophies, he became the first Temple defensive player to earn first-team Associated Press All-America honors (and the Owls’ first first-team AP All-American since Paul Palmer in 1986). Matakevich also became the first three-time captain in Temple history (along with teammate Kyle Friend).

With all of that going for him, Matakevich expected more from the draft than a phone call on the seventh round.

“You always have high expectations for yourself,” he said. “If you don’t have expectations, what’s the point?

“I went a different way but I’m more than happy to be here in Pittsburgh. I’m just blessed to be with this organization, to have unbelievable coaches that are already teaching me so much about the game.

“I just want to get better each day.”

http://www.steelers.com/news/article...5-92716ff31da2

[Mojouw]

I wonder if him and Jordan Zumwalt will fight it out at the 50 yard line on the first day of camp?

"There's only room for ONE scrappy linebacker on this team!"

Chikillio will just slowly edge off to the side and hope no one notices him...

[GBMelBlount]

“Running a 4.8, that’s what I am. ”

http://www.steelers.com/news/article...5-92716ff31da2

Doesn't sound like over pursuit will be a big problem.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Owls' Matakevich caught 'off-guard' by Steelers' call

by Marc Narducci, STAFF WRITER


Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich was on the phone with NFL teams that were looking to sign him as a potential free agent after the seventh round of the draft.

Then Matakevich got a call he said he had to take. It was from Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.

"It caught me off guard, and then I saw on the TV that Pittsburgh was picking next," Matakevich said on Monday in a phone interview.

Indeed, he was picked next, the 246th overall selection in a 253-player draft.

Matakevich is Temple's all-time leader with 493 tackles. He won the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Bronco Nagurski Trophy as the country's top defensive player.

And he was oh so close to being an undrafted free agent.

Just as Temple was his lone Division I offer coming out of Milford Academy prep school, the draft had an eerily similar feeling.

Instead of bashing the teams that didn't select him, however, Matakevich chose to praise the one that did.

"Everything happens for a reason, and this is just some adversity," he said. "I am grateful for the opportunity to hear my name called, and I will give my best to make sure they were happy that they drafted me."

He said he hasn't talked to Pittsburgh yet whether he will play inside or outside linebacker.

"All I know is I can't wait to get started," Matakevich said.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/...hf6LGB45Mtx.99

[teegre]

I wonder if him and Jordan Zumwalt will fight it out at the 50 yard line on the first day of camp?

"There's only room for ONE scrappy linebacker on this team!"

Chikillio will just slowly edge off to the side and hope no one notices him...

[tube517]

I wonder if him and Jordan Zumwalt will fight it out at the 50 yard line on the first day of camp?

"There's only room for ONE scrappy linebacker on this team!"

Chikillio will just slowly edge off to the side and hope no one notices him...

Chickfila and Zuma have hot girlfriends. If Malkovich doesn't have a hot GF, he's out.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Chickfila and Zuma have hot girlfriends.

[GBMelBlount]

LOL!

Being from Connecticut I looked up Matakevich in the record books and he is 9th all time in the state with 400 tackles.

and it looks like a guy I wrestled against in high school had the state record for almost 20 years with 515.

He was a 3 or 4 time state champ and had 100+ wins and maybe 5 losses.

I remember having to wrestle him twice in one day including the tournament finals. It came down to the last 5 seconds.

Absolute beast.

[tube517]

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[hawaiiansteeler]

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[Hawkman]

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[86WARD]

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Someone give tube an award for this post. Good work.

[pczach]

Someone give tube an award for this post. Good work.

That's what you call going the extra mile for your friends!

[Devilsdancefloor]

sounds like a thumper hopefully he stays home and in position if he does he doenst need 4.3 speed