Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 3, 2026 17 a touchdown. But he was just always ready and maximized on his job and cleared his plate and was ready." Jeffery's versatility in high school trans- lates naturally into what's being asked of him now as a college special teamer. He did play some wide receiver, his current position with the Irish outside of special teams, but also played quar- terback, running back and punter. He also was an all-state safety in football and a prep All-American in lacrosse, a sport in which he possessed consider- able collegiate potential. Last season, the midfielder amassed 19 goals and 12 assists for an Irish team that spent much of the season sitting at the No. 1 spot in the polls. And he earned third-team All-America honors as a sophomore last spring after being named ACC Freshman of the Year in 2025. "I like the aspect of just being a total athlete playing different sports," Jeffery said. "Like, I play basketball, too, play lacrosse. I know what it feels like to get hit from a cross stick, stuff like that. I'm not scared of those situations. I'm not scared to put my head in those situa- tions and get in there if I need to go lead block or do something. "I was in that [Notre Dame offensive] package last year trying to go and lead block. It's just I feel like that's a testa- ment to everything that I do in practice, too. I don't think it's just in the game. In practice, I'm definitely physical. I want to show people that I can come and hit you. "And I don't want to scare you a little bit. I want to put fear into you. Even if I'm a smaller guy, wearing number 33, like, it doesn't affect me. And I feel like that's how my competitive spirit shows on the field. It's given me the opportu- nities I have right now." And maybe football opportunities be- yond Notre Dame. HOW FAR FOOTBALL COULD TAKE JEFFERY Jeffery is just learning the nuances of playing wide receiver, having never really focused on the position full-time until walking on at Notre Dame. Yet he made significant progress at the position this summer, despite missing spring football for a starring role on the men's lacrosse team each of the past two springs. "I'm still working on that with Coach Brown and Jordan Faison," Jeffery said. "I've definitely just been watching and trying to take in everything I can from Jordan. Like, he's my ultimate mentor. "I always look up to Jordan because he kind of started it for me and made it an opportunity and a dream that I want to achieve, too. And he's just putting on such a good display of how it's really done at a high standard." So has Jeffery, albeit in a smaller sam- ple size. He saw action on offense in two of Notre Dame's first three games and had 2 catches for 28 yards in that open- ing stretch of the season. He's also Notre Dame's best run blocker among players not on the offensive line, per PFF. And it's to the point where he might have to make a decision about whether to become a one-sport athlete, as Faison did, if he wants to chase his first love, which is football. "I think he does," head coach Mar- cus Freeman said of whether Jeffery has NFL potential. "I think Matt is an ex- tremely gifted football player. Probably similar situations, they both were pri- mary lacrosse recruits first and walked on to the football team. "And Jordan ended up starting as a freshman, which is a little bit different than Matt. But as Jordan continued to improve and ascend, he made a decision going into this year, 'I want to focus on football.' "If Jordan had said, 'I want to play lacrosse this year,' go play lacrosse, and we need you ready for football season. But that was a personal decision, and if Matt gets to the point where he wants to make a decision like that, we fully sup- port it either way." Jeffery said he's too focused on the details of the moment to think too much about that bigger picture yet. "I really didn't even think about foot- ball as a thing until I saw Jordan catch the ball," Jeffery said of Faison's fresh- man season in 2023, when Jeffery was a committed Notre Dame lacrosse recruit. "And then as soon as I saw Jordan catch the ball against Louisville, I was like, 'Yo, I know that guy. Like, it's possi- ble.' So I called [Irish lacrosse assistant] coach [Ryan] Wellner, and I was just like, 'Hey, is there any possible way that I could walk on and try to do both?'" And walk into a dream that keeps get- ting more real by the day. "I think the sky's the limit for him, just like those other two [Faison and Talich]," Biagi said. "It's just because of his unique skill set. It's going to take a lot of work." Biagi pointed to former Irish walk-on Max Hurleman, who parlayed his Notre Dame opportunity into an NFL shot and remains on the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice squad/injured list. "He came in as a walk-on with one year to play and said, 'Just tell me what I've got to do.' If you can make the most of your opportunities and be able to produce here at Notre Dame, you're go- ing to get noticed and at least have a chance." ✦ Jeffery — who works on the kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return and punt cov- erage teams — has earned more opportuni- ties at wide receiver. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER