Analyst: 'Best football still ahead' for 5-star WR, Tennessee signee Mike Matthews
Tennessee introduced 27 players to its 2024 class on Wednesday. The headliner on the offensive side of the football was Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview High School five-star wideout Mike Matthews. Volquest caught up with On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power to get his thoughts on what makes the coveted signee special.
“Mike Matthews is a very good athlete for starters,” Power said. “He is around 6-1, 195 and is well-built. He is a guy who is an above-the-rim basketball player, and you can see that on Friday nights. He was a guy that, when I first saw Mike Matthews, this was in-person at OT7 Finals (in Las Vegas) two summers ago, and he was playing really well as a receiver.
“I went up to him, and he hadn’t fully blown up as a national prospect yet, and I asked him what position he was being recruited at and he told me safety. I kind of mentioned to him, I think you are going to get recruited as a receiver pretty heavily as well.”
That shift certainly happened as every major Power 5 program in the country honed in on Matthews as a receiver over the next 18 months. While the elite has garnered immense attention, Power believes Matthews best football is still ahead of him.
“He has always kind of been that two-way athlete, two-way playmaker at the high school level, and we saw him play a good bit of safety this year as a senior,” he continued. “I think he is a guy that as he focuses on one position, like at receiver at Tennessee, he is going to see his play and consistency improve. That is probably an area where I believe he can get better relative to some other guys who get just play straight receiver at the high school level.
“I think he has a ton of upside. A ton of athleticism. He is a guy who runs laser 4.4. Really good in the combine setting, and he can make guys miss after the catch as well. I think he brings a lot of what Tennessee wants at the position. I think his best football is ahead of him still, and we will see him make a jump after a year or two on campus with the coaching he is going to get.”
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On Wednesday, Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel was able to make his first comments on the elite signee, and he said Matthews is already standing out in bowl practice.
“Mike Matthews has been really good the first three or four days already out on the grass,” Heupel said. “(He’s) got great length, just talking about his wingspan, extremely explosive. The ability to go and high point a ball in the middle of the football field or out on the edge just going vertically.
“As a wide receiver, you are going to have to develop the ability to play versus man press at the line of scrimmage. Those are things that you typically don’t see (from a high school player). But a really bright guy who’s got a great future.”
Matthews finished his prep career at Parkview High School with 25 touchdowns and 2,545 yards on 135 receptions. He is rated as the No.22 overall prospect and sixth-best receiver in the class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. On3 rates Matthews as the No.46 overall prospect and ninth best receiver in the class.
