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Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer
Jerry Matson is highly respected by his coaches and teammates for the hard work he put in to earn a scholarship at Oregon
Matson: Years of hard work finally pay off
Continued from page 3B
said. “When I got here, David Moretti
was the same kind of guy. I would be
in the weight room and I’d hear the
clinking of weights late in the night
and I would be like, ‘Who is still
here?’ It was frustrating having some
one stay later than me. I wasn’t used
to it. Having someone so similar and
so dedicated, it really spurred me on
to keep lifting. ”
With Moretti entrenched in the
middle, and the likes of Kevin
Mitchell, Wesly Mallard and David
Martin roaming the outside, Matson
focused on special teams during his
redshirt freshman and sophomore
seasons. His constant hustle garnered
respect from teammates and coaches
and earned him additional reps with
the linebackers.
While Bellotti told No. 52 to focus
on his weak-side linebacker position,
Matson chose to study the middle
and strong-side linebacker positions
as well, giving him a better chance at
playing time. The decision paid off
when Matson was able to compete
for the starting middle linebacker po
sition after the completion of his red
shirt sophomore season.
After three years of hard work,
the walk on’s heart and determina
tion earned him more than just
respect and a chance to compete
for playing time. They earned him
a scholarship.
“All along, even before he earned
a scholarship, he was an acknowl
edged leader of this team,” Bellotti
said. “People would ask during
our spring meetings, ‘Who are the
leaders of this team? Who are
the people you respect and who
would you go into a foxhole with?’
(Matson’s) name kept coming
up because he worked very hard
and people knew what he
was about.”
Matson was determined to fill the
opening at middle linebacker enter
ing his junior season, but lacked the
polish necessary to start in the Pacif
ic-10 Conference. Pellum continued
to work with his pupil, however,
knowing Matson had the motor, he
just needed the vision.
“Jerry’s always played with a
great passion,” Pellum said.
“He’s always run around really fast.
A lot of the time, he’d go the wrong
way or do the wrong thing, but
you saw him run around and you
saw a burst and you saw a flash
and you said, ‘You know what? If
we get him straightened out, with
his eyes in the right spot, heading
in the right direction, he might be
pretty good.’”
Pellum’s observation proved cor
rect as Matson won the starting job
entering the 2003 season. He contin
uously confirmed himself worthy of
the task, finishing the season with 81
tackles, including 16 for a loss. He
also intercepted a pass and returned
it 22 yards for a touchdown in a vic
tory against UCLA.
“In the fourth quarter, he’s going
just as fast as he was in the first
quarter,” outside linebacker Ramone
Reed said. “I know if I was a line
man, I’d probably hate going against
Jerry. Even if somebody gets a
good hit on him, he just bounces
back up like nothing ever happened.
He’s awesome. He’s an inspiration
to me. When I’m down or I’m tired,
I look over at Jerry and I’m like, ‘I
can’t let him down because he
won’t let me down.’”
Despite his impressive statistics,
what Matson’s coaches and team
mates admired most was his ability
to stay hungry despite having met his
goal of achieving a starting position.
He continued to work hard in prac
tice and was always one of the last
players to leave the weight room.
Now a senior, Matson has built
himself up to a 225-pound punish
ing tackier, who benches 325
pounds and squats 520. He’s a sure
tackier and continues to contribute
on special teams.
“Every year, I’ve been top-11 on
special teams,” Matson said. “I kind
of take pride in it and I like to show
guys that you’re not too good for spe
cial teams as you get older.”
Matson’s teammates continue to
be impressed by his hustle.
“Jerry’s one of those guys that
just will not be denied,” Reed said.
“He’s one of those guys who thrives
off people telling him he’s too small
or he’s not good enough.
“He’s the hardest working player
on this team.”
Matson’s hard work is evident off
the field as well. He graduated from
the University in the spring of 2004
with a degree in business administra
tion and is scheduled to receive his
MBA this summer.
Matson realizes when his football
days are over, it will be another uphill
climb toward achieving his goal of
being a successful business man.
“When it’s time to get a real job,
I’ll be the bottom man on the pole,”
Matson said. “But I’ve been doing
this since my freshman year of high
school. I put a little work in and I
get something out of it and keep on
doing it.”
With practice having ended on a
chilly Tliesday evening, Matson takes
a rare break, sits on the back of a mo
torized cart outside of the Casanova
Center and starts discussing his final
weeks as a football player at Oregon.
Only when the hardest working
man on the team is at rest does he re
alize the end is near.
“I’m getting philosophical,”
Matson said. “I have two games left
to be mean and hit people and do
the things you’ll never get to do for
the rest of your life. You can’t run
and cut someone down or lay some
one out on the street. You have to
take advantage of your time at prac
tice. Sometimes it’s painstaking to
go an extra day, but it’s so close to
the end that I just have to take it in
and enjoy it.”
Whether Oregon goes to a bowl
game is yet to be determined.
Whether the Ducks have two or
three games left won’t change the
fact that Matson’s legacy will stay
with the team long after he’s moved
on with his life.
“He’s highly regarded on the
team because everyone knows his
story,” Pellum said. “The fact that
he’s a walk-on and that he’s earned
it and that he’s been starting for two
years, but he continues to work
with the same ethic that got him
here. Sometimes guys, once they
achieve that goal, they don’t put out
the same effort.
“Jerry is one of those self-made
guys.”
jonroetman@dailyemerald.com
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