It’s no secret that Falcons’ offensive tackle Jake Matthews is in the third generation of the Matthews family to play in the NFL.
Despite all their success, Matthews said the football players in his family tend to quietly go about the family business.
“We don’t like a lot of attention, especially my dad. I think we all got it from him,” Matthews said. “We kind of like just doing our job, and that’s part of it.”
Matthews’ father, Bruce Matthews, played in the NFL for 19 seasons, from 1983-2001, as an offensive lineman with the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans. Matthews was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
Although Jake Matthews and his two brothers, Kevin Matthews and Mike Matthews, senior at Texas A&M, are following in the footsteps of generations before them by all pursuing professional football careers, they all chose to forge their own paths in college.
Jake Matthews and his two brothers attended Texas A&M to play football, rather than following in the footsteps of their uncle and father by playing at USC.
Matthews said he and his brothers chose to play college football at Texas A&M based on where their family settled down. He said because his father played for the Houston Oilers, his immediate family settled down in Texas.
Despite Matthews and his two brothers choosing to forge their own paths with college football, Matthews said the unwavering influence of his dad’s dedication to playing in the NFL influenced Matthews during his formative years.
“He was playing football, and that’s all I knew every weekend was watching him play ball,” Matthews said. “He did it really well too, so I wanted to emulate him.”
Allowing Matthews’ father to live his dream and still have a family at home, Matthews said his mother deserves credit for raising seven children.
“She needs a lot of credit for that because she had a bunch of miniature football players running around the house,” Matthews said. “She’s a saint, that’s all I can say.”
Although Jake Matthews said he was encouraged by every member of his extended family to pursue a career in the NFL, without question, his father influenced his life and professional career most.
“He’s the person my life that I wanted to be like from the day I was born until all the way up to fifth grade,” Matthews said.
Matthews said his grandfather also poured into him, influencing how he approached his career.
Matthews’ grandfather, Clay Matthews Sr., played four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers in 1950 and from 1953-55.
Along with his father, Matthews’ uncle, Clay Matthews Jr. also played as a linebacker in the NFL for 19 years with the Cleveland Browns from 1978-93 and with the Falcons from 1994-96. Clay Matthews Jr. has two sons, Clay Matthews III and Casey Matthews, both current NFL linebackers.
Although on different sides of the country, Matthews said the family remains close enough to create nicknames for each branch of the family.
Jake Matthews’ said his uncle’s side of the family is called “California Matthews,”while Jake Matthew’s side is “The Texas Matthews.”
Matthews said the trait that most defines the “Texas Matthews” is their healthy appetites, with three out of the four brothers being linemen.
“We’re just the big Texas Matthews,” Matthews said. “For example, on Thanksgiving, we usually deep fry like three turkeys. It’s pretty incredible.”
Matthews said the “California Matthews” have some distinguishing traits as well.
“They’re more Hollywood, we would say,” Matthews said. “They have the long hair and see them on TV everywhere. They’re good guys. … They (own) it.”
With all the “Clay’s” on his uncle’s side of the family, Matthews said family get-togethers can be confusing.
Clay Matthews III, in his seventh year with the Green Bay Packers, has a son Clay IV, who adds to the confusion, Jake Matthews said.
“The oldest Clay is ‘Poppa’, that’s my granddad,” Matthews said. “Uncle Clay, we just call him ‘Clay’, Clay III who’s in Green Bay we call him ‘Clay Jr.’ (Clay III) actually had a son who’s ‘Clay IV’, so I don’t know what I’m going to call him.”
On the field, Matthews is in a different type of family with the Falcons offensive line — one that was recently put together at the beginning of the season with the line playing their first game together against the Philadelphia Eagles in week one.
Matthews and Ryan Schraeder, both tackles, were the only two starting offensive linemen returning to the Falcons this season. Center Mike Person was added in the offseason, and guards Chris Chester and Andy Levitre were added in the preseason.
Coach Dan Quinn has reiterated this season how proud he is of the professionalism and determination that each starter on the offensive line brings. From the early in the season, Quinn said he saw the closeness and professionalism in the group.
“As a head coach, I’m so excited to see how tight knit that group is,” Quinn said in week four. “The approach is what I’m most impressed about and how tight these guys are getting and how hard they’re playing.”
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