Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Notre Dame Is Where Jacob Matuska Wants To Be BY JASON SAPP uled a trip to South Bend for Notre Dame's junior day on March 3 (see pages 44-45). COMMITMENT PROFILE JACOB MATUSKA table," Jim Matuska, Jacob's father, told 247Sports national writer Steve Wiltfong prior to the visit. "There is an urgency. We know these oppor- tunities won't be out there forever. Hopefully we'll be able to make a decision soon." "I don't know if there is a time- there was only one more thing he wanted to do before wrapping up his recruitment — take a visit to Notre Dame. The four-star defensive end sched- T he pieces were all falling into place for Jacob Matuska, and place he wanted to be," the elder Matuska said the morning of his son's commitment. "We're just re- ally excited. "I think it was in his heart. The "I do believe it's always been a whole process with the recruiting and such, you kind of lose sight of that. Once we got up there this past weekend and met the coaches — and it really was a great visit — was when he truly thought about it. We put ourselves into the future and imagined him putting on what uni- form he wanted to put on, and asked where would you want to graduate from. It was pretty clear to him." Matuska, who reeled in nine catches and four touchdowns in his junior campaign, is described by his head coach, Brad Burchfield, as a "street-fight football player." "When you run power and off- tackle and you're trying to hammer FOR ME THAT CAN HELP ME BECOME A BETTER MAN AND BETTER PERSON FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE." JACOB MATUSKA "I'M JUST TRYING TO LOOK FOR THE RIGHT PLACE Northwestern, Oklahoma and oth- ers had offered, but it was appar- ent that Michigan was the school to watch. The nation's No. 6 tight end and No. 159 overall prospect in the land according to 247Sports had already camped at Notre Dame and attended the USC game last fall. This trip was more about getting to know the coaches and finding out just how good of a fit the program was for him. "We wanted to get an opportu- Illinois, Louisville, Nebraska, that thing in there, we think of those as street-fight plays," Burchfield said. "You have to be able to impose your will and break someone else's will. The athletic plays he makes are from God-given ability. He's able to do the tough plays. "He's also a great player for us on nity to take it in," the elder Matuska shared. "It was very thorough and personable, and we had a lot of time to see it all. We were very pleased with the visit." The Matuska camp was able to defense because of his athletic abil- ity and because of his size. He makes the effort plays. He's just dominat- ing on the line of scrimmage. He'll get out to the third level and just destroy the free safety. I don't think those things are common." Matuska knew exactly what he wanted when it came to making a college decision. "I'm just trying to look for the spend one-on-one time with Irish head coach Brian Kelly and defen- sive line coach Mike Elston to get a feel for what the university and its football program had to offer, and it was just the right amount of attention needed to move forward with a decision. The 6-5, 240-pound Columbus (Ohio) Bishop Hartley player offered his commitment on March 7. 42 APRIL 2012 right place for me that can help me become a better man and better per- son for the rest of my life," he said. While in South Bend, Matuska process things," his father shared. "That's where he wants to be. Being part of that family, I don't know if he dreamed about it, but it was some- thing that was in his mind. That's where he wants to be." ✦ Matuska is listed by 247Sports as a four-star prospect, the No. 6 tight end nationally and the No. 159 overall player in the class of 2013. PHOTO COURTESY 247SPORTS ning ability for his size … Likes contact and keeps a wide base while blocking the defender to maintain leverage and control of the block … Has a great frame to build on, is scrappy in the trenches and is a versatile option that shows enough talent at the tight end position to be considered as a possible shift, if needed, similar to sophomore linebacker-tight end convert Troy Niklas. Strengths Plays low with power and shows good run- FILM ANALYSIS was able to find just that. "He had to think about it and defensively he will need work on becoming more of the aggressor instead of making initial contact, standing ground and getting into a read … If he can translate that same level of aggressiveness from the offensive side of the ball to defense, he'll have no issues handling the transition at the collegiate level. Areas To Improve The majority of his clips were on offense, but — Jason Sapp BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED