Tennessee sophomore wide receiver is ‘ready’ to attack the 2025 College Football season.
In his rookie campaign the wide out did not see the field as much as he believed he should’ve. The frustration he felt then, has certainly turned into motivation this season.
“It was real frustrating,” said Matthews. “But I know God has a plan for me, so I just kind of just go with the battle. It’s just, I know it’s always gonna be adversity and everything we do in life. So kind of battled through. I know it’s gonna all play out right in the end.”
Out of high school, Matthews was considered one of the nation’s top wide receiver prospects. ESPN and Rivals rated him a five-star recruit and was regarded as a top-50 player nationally.
In his first season, he saw action in 11 games, finished with seven receptions for 90 yards, and a pair of touchdowns.
Following the end of the 2024 season, he’s been locked in.
Over break, before Nico Iamaleava departed from Tennessee, he spent time with the then-starting quarterback in California getting in extra work.
When he returned to Rocky Top, he dedicated extra hours of work after practice and time in Kelsey Pope’s office, the wide receiver’s coach, to expedite his growth.
“I think it’s directly correlated to the time (Matthews and Braylon Staley) spend in my office together,” said Pope. “And the time they spend with one another together, extra catches, extra meetings, those guys are doing things on their own in the summer.”
That has him primed for the 2025 season.
“I’m definitely ready. You know, just going through last year and experiencing everything I experienced, I feel like it all played out like it’s supposed to so now I have more, like, a mental mindset. What’s going on? I just got my body through the work.”
There’s no shortage of pressure on Matthews in 2025. Especially when you consider Tennessee needs to rely on him to be versatile and play all three positions.
A challenge he openly welcomes.
“Oh yes, of course, like wherever they put me at I just gotta do my job the right way and everything will be okay,” said Matthews.
That same attitude remains true with his role on special teams when he’ll be used in punt returns.
“I’m just glad to be on the field wherever they put me at,” exclaimed Matthews.
Matthews continued, “Hey, like I said, wherever they put on the field, I’m just happy to be on there.”
Still, there’s a sense of urgency he operates with to get ready for the season to kick off at the end of August.
“Last year seeing how Bru (McCoy) and Dont’e (Thornton) kind of handled this stuff. I definitely try to take how they approached practice last year, or just not even practicing meetings, or anything we do. I try to take what they did and apply it,” said Matthews.
Wherever he finds himself on the field this season, he knows everyone will be closely watching how he performs.
“I’ve been in the spotlight where it’s all eyes on me. But, you know, this is really nothing new, and it’s college football and sec, so everybody’s gonna be watching me at every point,” said Matthews.
