Tag: Jordan Matthews

Early signing period: Jordan Matthews signs with Tennessee

Early signing period: Jordan Matthews signs with Tennessee

The 2022 early signing period is taking place Dec. 21-23 for the 2023 recruiting signing class.

The 2022 early signing period is Josh Heupel’s second as Tennessee’s head coach. He was hired as the Vols’ head coach in Jan. 2021.

Heupel guided the Vols to a 10-2 regular season in 2022.

No. 6 Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) will play No. 7 Clemson (11-2, 8-0 ACC) in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Dec. 30.

Kickoff between the Vols and Tigers is slated for 8 p.m. EST (ESPN) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Jordan Matthews signed with the Vols on Wednesday during the early signing period.

The 6-foot-1, 184-pound cornerback is from Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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Let’s Talk About It: How is ‘Recruiting the Boot’ going for LSU?

Coach Brian Kelly has silenced much of the criticism surrounding his in-state recruiting.

For the past few months, there have been many posts on social media and football message boards about how LSU coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] was not doing a great job recruiting the best players from Louisiana. So, we’re going to take a look into how well the Tigers are doing when it comes to ‘Recruiting the Boot’.

Of the top 15 recruits in Louisiana for the class of 2023, LSU currently has five commits ([autotag]Shelton Sampson Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Kaleb Jackson[/autotag], [autotag]Kylin Jackson[/autotag], [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyree Adams[/autotag]) and they have  Crystal Ball projections for two more ([autotag]Zalance Heard[/autotag] and [autotag]Khai Prean[/autotag]).

If you go back one more spot, LSU could possibly land eight out of the top 16 players in the state — [autotag]Trey Holly[/autotag], another LSU commit, is No. 16 on the list.

Sure, Kelly missed out on some of the top prospects like [autotag]Arch Manning[/autotag], [autotag]Derek Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Eli Holstein[/autotag] and [autotag]Tackett Curtis[/autotag], but this isn’t Pokémon.

You aren’t going to catch them all.

Landing 50% of the top 16 players in the state is a very high clip. It’s also a lot more than anyone else has in your state. Out of the top 16 players, LSU could land eight while Texas has two (Manning and Williams). Alabama ([autotag]Eli Holstein[/autotag]), USC ([autotag]Tackett Curtis[/autotag]), Notre Dame ([autotag]Jaiden Ausberry[/autotag]), Nebraska ([autotag]Omarion Miller[/autotag]), Tennessee ([autotag]Jordan Matthews[/autotag]), and Washington ([autotag]Curley Reed[/autotag]) each have one.

No, it has not been a perfect recruiting cycle, but, in my opinion, it has been pretty successful.

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Four-star CB Jordan Matthews announces commitment to Tennessee

Jordan Matthews chose Tennessee over Texas and Michigan.

The Longhorns missed out on an elite prospect out of Louisiana. Continue reading “Four-star CB Jordan Matthews announces commitment to Tennessee”

New On3 recruiting prediction entered in favor of Texas for four-star CB Jordan Matthews

Jordan Matthews has a commitment date of August 15 and Texas has emerged as the clear-cut favorite.

Texas is in great standing with four-star cornerback Jordan Matthews. Continue reading “New On3 recruiting prediction entered in favor of Texas for four-star CB Jordan Matthews”

Four-star CB Jordan Matthews breaks down his top three schools

Four-star defensive back Jordan Matthews is set to announce his college decision on Aug. 15. 

Four-star defensive back Jordan Matthews is set to announce his college decision on Aug. 15.

The Baton Rouge product released a top three of Michigan, Tennessee and Texas. Matthews took visits to each schools throughout the summer months and is ready to pick his future home.

Matthews is as listed the No. 15 cornerback prospect in the nation and the No. 139 overall player in the 2023 cycle according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Texas is trending for the talented defensive back. Two 247Sports crystal ball projections and multiple On3 RPM picks are entered in favor of the Longhorns.

The State of Louisiana has been kind to Texas in this recruiting cycle. Five-star quarterback Arch Manning and five-star defensive back Derek Williams are already committed to the Horns. Adding Matthews would mark another elite prospect from Louisiana for Steve Sarkisian and company.

Matthews spoke with On3 Sports about what stands out about each of his final three schools.

Michigan makes top three for four-star cornerback

#Michigan needs to land this one!

Michigan football is currently ranked 28th in the country for the 2023 recruiting cycle according to 247Sports composite. But the Wolverines are squarely in the mix for a top-150 prospect who will be making his decision on August 15.

2023 four-star corner Jordan Matthews tweeted out his final three on Thursday which includes Michigan, Texas, and Tennessee.

Matthews plays at Woodlawn (Louisiana) and according to the composite ranking, he is the 139th-ranked prospect in the country and the 15th-ranked cornerback.

He visited Michigan back on June 3rd and Ron Bellamy has been his primary recruiter.

The Baton Rouge native checks in at 6-foot and weighs 165-pounds. He runs a verified 10.66 100-meter and a 21.29 200-meter. There are currently two crystal balls in for Texas — both being Texas insiders.

Michigan currently has zero defensive backs committed for the 2023 cycle, so if the Wolverines could land Matthews, it would be a significant commitment. Tune in on August 15th to see if Matthews comes to Ann Arbor.

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49ers TE Jordan Matthews tears ACL, will go on season-ending IR

Bad injury news for the 49ers: TE Jordan Matthews is out for the year with a torn ACL.

The 49ers on Wednesday got some bad injury news. Tight end Jordan Matthews tore his ACL in a non-contact drill and will go on injured reserve according to Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group.

Going on IR now will end Matthews’ season and his bid to make the active roster as a tight end for the first time. The former wide receiver changed positions last offseason and spent most of the year on the practice squad.

His path to the roster was going to be an uphill battle against more experienced TEs, but his pass-catching skill set would’ve certainly given him a shot.

Matthews is the second player in camp to go down with a season-ending injury. Defensive lineman Maurice Hurst suffered a torn biceps that landed him on IR.

The 49ers re-signed Matthews to a one-year deal this offseason. He was a second-round pick of the Eagles in the 2014 draft. Matthews spent time in Philadelphia and Buffalo before making his way to San Francisco in 2019. In three years in the Bay Area he played in just four games, including one game where he played four special teams snaps last year.

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Four-star Hunter Osborne chooses Alabama over Texas and others

After losing out on Hunter Osborne, let’s look at a few battles Texas could win.

Hunter Osborne is headed to Tuscaloosa, AL. He won’t have to drive very far to get there. The talented defensive lineman from the state of Alabama chose the Crimson Tide over Texas, Clemson, Tennessee and others.

Osborne momentarily flirted with the idea of coming to Texas, but after receiving the Alabama offer he longed to receive, he chose his home state team.

Texas hoped his ties with former teammate Justice Finkley might win him over, but ultimately the 6-foot-4 250-pound lineman chose to stay home.

Osborne is the No. 12 defensive lineman and No. 113 overall player in the nation.

With a number of players set to commit soon, let’s look at a few potentially imminent battles in which Texas could win.

Texas trending for 2023 four-star CB Jordan Matthews

Texas continues to recruit Louisiana hard this cycle.

Texas played host to a huge recruiting event over the weekend featuring some of the top prospects in the 2023 and 2024 classes. It appears the Longhorns made a strong impression with four-star cornerback Jordan Matthews.

Cole Patterson of Rivals put in a futures pick in favor of Texas for the Baton Rouge native following Matthews’ visit to Austin.

The 247Sports composite lists Matthews as the No. 15 cornerback prospect in the nation and the No. 139 overall player in the class of 2023.

Matthews displays excellent athleticism and physicality at the cornerback spot. The two-sport star also competes in track and field during the spring.

Texas has already made its mark in Louisiana this class with the commitments of five-stars Arch Manning and Derek Williams. Landing Matthews would mark three of the best players in the state going to Texas.

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Texas football and others have a big recruiting weekend in store

This weekend could make or break a number of recruitments.

Steve Sarkisian gets set for one of the bigger recruiting weekends of the offseason.

Texas likely only has around eight more open spots for commitments. While there is great confidence in what Texas can accomplish with on-campus visitors, there likely remains some curiosity of what is going on elsewhere.

David Hicks Jr., the top 10 talent from Katy, has long had an Oklahoma visit in his sights. Having brought in more defensive talent, this weekend could further improve Oklahoma’s chances to get the top defensive lineman.

Anthony Hill Jr. has a significant visit to College Station planned this weekend. With Hill likely soon deciding between Texas and Texas A&M the timing makes the visit even more consequential.

Texas will bring in its fair share of recruiting targets. This could be an opportunity for Arch Manning and company to help close the recruitment of a handful of key prospects.

Jordan Matthews, Markis Deal, Javien Toviano and others could all potentially visit Texas this weekend. A good weekend could improve their chances of a top three recruiting class.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.