MORGANTOWN — WVU cornerback Jackie Matthews was one of the defensive heroes during last week’s win over Virginia Tech at Milan Puskar Stadium. It was Matthews who batted down Braxton Burmeister’s final pass on 4th down to seal a 27-21 win for the Mountaineers.
It’s hard to believe the sure-tackling, hard-hitting DB rising up the ranks for WVU through three games this season was once a star quarterback in high school.
But to head coach Neal Brown, the fact he once starred on offense and is now a key contributor on defense is exactly what makes Matthews so special.
“He wins a high school state championship and plays multiple positions,” Brown said. “He goes to Gulf Coast and plays every position in the secondary and they win a national championship in his second year. I do think there’s something about that. He was a selfless player in junior college, which you don’t see a ton. He played free safety, he played corner, he played nickel, and all within his second season there.”
It started at Pinson Valley High in Alabama, where he was a dual-threat QB through his junior year. But prior to his senior year, Patrick Nix took over as the head coach and brought his son, 5-star recruit Bo, with him.
With Nix now the starting quarterback, Matthews moved to wide receiver and also started to focus his skill more on the defensive side. That season, Pinson Valley won the Alabama Class 6A state championship.
Nix eventually signed at Auburn, where he is still the starting QB for the Tigers.
Because Matthews got a late start on defense, the best chance for him to earn a Power 5 offer was to head to junior college, landing at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in 2018.
There, he played a “rover” position in the back end of the secondary, ultimately being named a first-team Junior College All-American while helping MGCCC win a national title in 2019.
Brown knew about Matthews while he was the head coach at Troy, but because of Matthews’ aspiration to play at a bigger school, didn’t recruit him hard out of high school. When Brown landed at WVU, it opened the door up for Brown to give Matthews a serious look, and two years later, both are reaping the benefits.
Last season, Matthews contributed on special teams and added depth in the secondary, but expected to have a much bigger role in 2021. A minor injury hampered him during fall camp, so he lost the starting cornerback spot to Daryl Porter Jr., but when he’s played through three games, Matthews has proven he belongs.
The versatility he’s shown over the last four years is on display.
“We’re playing him at multiple positions,” Brown said. “He’s playing Spear for us. When we go to our dime package, he’s playing basically the Will linebacker. Then he’s playing corner and he’s played all those positions through three games. His mental approach has been much improved, as well.”
Brown said it usually takes junior college players a year to get comfortable, and that’s been the case for Matthews. He worked with safeties Alonzo Addae and Scottie Young during the off-season but sometimes natural ability just takes over.
“The best thing he does is find the ball,” defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley said. “That’s really a natural deal a lot of times, too. There’s really good athletes and there’s really good ball players and if you can find a combination of both, you really have something. Jackie is a combination of a little bit of both.”
Matthews and the Mountaineers (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) will take on Oklahoma (3-0, 0-0) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Norman, Okla.
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