Greater Expectations
That's exactly what true freshman RB Ryan Mathews just brought upon himself. He told Pat Hill he wants No. 21, so Hill called and asked blast-from-the-past Dale Messer if he would mind letting his jersey come out of retirement for this new kid on the block.
Messer said yes. Alls I know, is the kid better live up to the hype now. Hill must think he will, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to all that trouble.
So what did Mathews do in his days at West High in Bakersfield to deserve such amenities...?
Well, he led the nation in rushing. He turned down a late offer from USC (which should earn him bonus points in everyones' book) and his parents left one of the Ts out of his last name...on purpose!
Try that one on for size Evan O'Dorney!
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Mathews is talented but he did not get a late offer from USC. The Trojans merely wanted to see his transcripts and get him on a visit in Jan. Ryan refused, citing his commitment to Fresno State.
ReplyDeleteAre you saying that they wouldn't have offered him had he agreed to the visit? After all why would they be coming to him for such a late visit. Regardless Ryan stuck to his word that he gave Pat Hill which says a lot about his character. It seems with all the negative talk about him on the boards maybe he should have went on that visit.
ReplyDeletei saw mathews play once his senior year. his team's starting qb was injured, so mathews took the snaps from shotgun formation.
ReplyDeleteto make a long story short, the guy ran for a then career-high 313 yards — basically just running the direct snap run up the middle a la thurman thomas in the old tecmo super bowl.
everyone knew it was coming. no one could stop it. it'll be interesting to see what mathews can do in college.
I'll tell you right now two things. One, Pat Hill said that USC tried to come in and steal Mathews late. They should have tried. Can't blame them.
ReplyDeleteBut he's a true 'Dog and stuck to his word, and after tonight's scrimmage I am 100% convinced he is going to be an absolute superstar!