Never judge a book by its cover, especially a suave book like the Packers’ Clay Matthews.
ARLINGTON, Texas -- "If you hold that ball, he's going to get to you"
The "he" that Charles Woodson was referring to is his teammate, Clay Matthews. After a solid rookie campaign, Matthews terrorized opposing quarterbacks in 2010 and has emerged as one of the most feared defensive players in the NFL.
After compiling 13.5 sacks and 83 tackles, Matthews fell two votes short in the defensive player of the year voting to, of all players, Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.
A casual fan that sees Matthews flexing his massive biceps muscle after a sack must think this guy has lived a charmed life. A good-looking young man with long blond hair, Matthews signed an endorsement deal with Suave shampoo last week.
What most fans don't realize is that nothing has come easy for the son of former long-time Cleveland Browns linebacker, Clay Matthews.
Even though his dad was coaching the team, Matthews was deemed to be too small and simply not good enough to be a starter as a junior in high school.
Upon graduation, Matthews went to his father's alma mater USC as a walk-on.
With every obstacle along the way, Matthews kept grinding away and kept working at being a better player.
Even though Matthews is the first player in Packers history to begin his career with two straight seasons with more than 10 sacks, in his mind he's still that skinny 16-year-old that was told that he's not good enough to play the game he loves.
"That's what really drives me and what wants me to the best is the fact that I've always had to scratch and claw for everything," Matthews explained. "Despite all the accolades being thrown my way, and the awards, it's just another opportunity for me to prove myself and put myself in some elite company."
Matthews might feel a need to prove himself every day, but he doesn't have to do much to prove himself to his teammates and the men that coach him. Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is not the most talkative man in the world, but he could talk all day about Matthews.
"He just brings a tremendous energy, a style of play, tenaciousness to our defence that is infectious," McCarthy said of his star linebacker. "He's a class act, a very, professional young man and has been since the day we drafted him"
The Packers were unsure whether or not they were going to draft Matthews in 2009. But according to defensive co-ordinator Dom Capers, that all changed when the team had their first face-to-face meeting with the young man.
"When we were at the combine and interviewing Clay, you could tell that he was on a mission and had something to prove," Capers said. "If you get a guy that has that type of talent and that type of drive and motivation and you could just look in his eye at the combine and say 'I want that guy on my team'."
A few months before the Packers traded up to draft Matthews with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2009 draft; Green Bay hired Kevin Greene to be their outside linebackers coach. All of the sudden a talented, motivated player like Matthews had the perfect man to guide him.
Greene had 160 sacks during his stellar NFL career and has gone out of his way to teach Matthews all of the secrets and tricks that allowed him to be one of the best pass-rush specialists of his generation.
Like Matthews, Greene was a long haired wild man on the field. Like Matthews, Greene was a walk-on in college at Auburn. The two men formed an immediate bond with each other and Matthews says Greene has played a big role in his success.
"He's not just an X's and O's guy, he played the same position I did for many years and excelled at it as well as being a walk on in college. You can tell by his intensity and how he never lets off that he wants to be great. It definitely wears off on me I want to follow in his footsteps and be as great as he was, if not better," Matthews said of Greene.
Greene had equally kind words on his star pupil. He respects Matthews' internal drive.
"He understands that this is a blessing for him. He was a walk-on at USC and he has a walk-on mentality of scratching and clawing and fighting for everything," Greene explained. "So he's maintained that in the success he's achieved this year and he's not going to be satisfied with it, which is good."
What immediately strikes you when interviewing Matthews is his complete lack of ego. He looks you right in the eye and answers every question in a polite and respectful manner. Matthews told me that his father and his uncle, Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews, taught him the importance of humility when playing the NFL, no matter what level of stardom you achieve.
"Coming from a family with so much experience in this league, both my father and my uncle lasted 19 years they wouldn't have been able to do so with an attitude or an ego or whatnot," he said. "Learning from them, growing up in that environment as well as everything that I had to go through it makes it a seamless transition"
In a lot of ways, what happened to Clay Matthews as a 16-year-old was the best thing that ever happened to him. While I am sure it sucked to be standing on the sidelines at the time, it also infused him with a work ethic and a commitment to prove that he belongs.
Two years into his NFL career, Matthews will only get better with more experience.
A truly frightening thought for Ben Roethlisberger or any other quarterback who makes the mistake of holding on to the ball too long.
