Humble Beginnings
Growing up in Stratford, Connecticut, Tyler Matakevich always had a knack for football. He loved to play it and played for St. Joseph’s High School. However, Matakevich did not receive a single scholarship out of high school to play football at the collegiate level. Many claimed his size for a linebacker was what hurt them the most, being only 6’1”. He attended the Milford Academy for a year to see if he would receive any Division I scholarship offers while playing football there. Coaches from Temple University at the time saw his play and offered him a scholarship.
Freshman Standout
Beginning in 2012, Matakevich was simply another player on the bench but always put the work in where it was needed. By October, Matakevich had been impressing head coach Steve Addazio enough to be promoted to starting linebacker when they played South Florida. He recorded fifteen tackles, two for loss, in his debut as a starter as Temple took down South Florida.
Being born and raised in Connecticut, Matakevich wanted to play for the UConn Huskies in college. He failed to get a single offer from the school which had a large impact on him. In his freshman year, he was the starter as the Owls played the Huskies, in Connecticut, following their win over South Florida. Matakevich was out to make everyone at UConn regret passing on him. He recorded nineteen tackles, his second highest total during his career, along with one tackle for loss and a pass deflection.
Matakevich kept the intensity going during his freshman year, only recording under ten tackles just once in his final six games of the year. Temple finished the year at 4-7, putting a damper on Matakevich’s exceptional season, recording 101 tackles on the year.
Sophomore Slump?
His sophomore year proved that his freshman year was not a fluke. New head coach Matt Rhule saw something special in Matakevich and his work ethic, ultimately giving him a greater role in the team. The first game of the year was against Notre Dame, which put Temple in the spotlight. Matakevich had a strong game, recording eleven tackles, two for loss, in their loss in South Bend.
In Week 4, Temple played Idaho on the road and Matakevich had a day to remember. He totaled 24 tackles, two for loss, where 20 of his tackles were solo tackles. Matakevich kept on destroying offensive attacks and had his best season ever, statistic wise. He had 137 tackles, his most in a season, and he led the NCAA with 106 solo tackles. Temple’s poor 2-10 year diminished Matakevich’s accomplishments, but that wouldn’t deter him or Temple.
Junior on the Rise
Matakevich’s junior year made him stand out amongst his teammates and competitors. Matakevich made contributions on multiple levels for the defense, ending his season with 117 total tackles, 10.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, an interception, three pass deflections, and two fumble recoveries. His work all over the field gained him the recognition off the field that was well deserved.
Matakevich was named to the All-American Athletic Conference first team. Prior to the season, Matakevich was given the jersey number ‘8’ to wear. At Temple, the players vote on the nine toughest and hardest working players on the team and they are honored with a single digit jersey number. Matakevich wore ‘8’ in his junior and senior year.
Temple finished at 6-6 while Matakevich was a junior, but they were snubbed of a bowl appearance, which discouraged many of the players. Matakevich put his accomplishments behind him and helped rally the team following the crushing blow.
Superior Senior
His senior year was not only big for himself, but also for all of Temple football. In their opening game against Penn State, Temple brought their A game and took down Penn State, 27-10. It was a huge win for the school and a big game for Matakevich. He recorded seven tackles and three sacks, his only career multi-sack game, while applying constant pressure to quarterback Christian Hackenberg and disrupting the offense as a whole. Following the win, Rhule touched on how Matakevich stood out during the Wednesday practice and acted as a mentor for all of the young guys.
Matakevich continued to shine and led Temple to its first 7-0 start in school history before the spotlight shined bright on the school. Temple was ranked #21 and faced #9 Notre Dame at home. College Gameday was in town and ABC put the game on primetime as everyone was talking about Temple. Notre Dame wound up beating Temple, 24-20, but it was close thanks to the spectacular play of Matakevich. He recorded 13 tackles, one for a loss, and had a huge redzone interception to prevent Notre Dame from going up by two scores before the half.
Temple continued to perform at a high level and so did Matakevich. They finished the regular season at 10-2 and won the East Division to play in the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship Game, where they lost to Houston. Temple did earn a spot in a bowl game, playing Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl, but ultimately lost that too and finished the year at 10-4. Matakevich recorded 20 tackles over the course of the two games but cared more about the final score than his personal accolades.
Matakevich finished his senior year with 138 tackles, his most in a season, 15.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, five interceptions, and five pass deflections. His standout year earned him national attention and plenty of honors. He was one of only seven players in college football history to have four seasons with 100 or more tackles each season. Matakevich was a consensus All-American, being selected as a first-team All-American on three separate ballots, and becoming the first ever Temple player to record such a feat. He also won two different awards as defensive player of the year, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Chuck Bednarik Award.
Looking Back on his Career
Tyler never played for the honors, however. He always looked to help Temple get a win and do everything he could to inspire others. Rhule always credited Matakevich for his work on the practice field, never missing a practice except during this past award season, and his role as a mentor for all of his teammates. Matakevich left as a lasting impact with Temple, and although he couldn’t end his career on a high note, he helped make Temple football relevant again.
Matakevich now looks to play in the NFL and is projected to be drafted rather early. He is projected to go in the late second round or possible the early third round, mainly due to his size as a linebacker. He proved everyone wrong by his play at Temple as an undersized linebacker, so expect him to do the same in the pros. While he may be moving on from Temple, Matakevich will never forget his time at the university, and the university will always remember him.