4-star athlete Mike Matthews quickly becoming a national name

Few 2024 prospects have been hotter on the recruiting trail in recent months than Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview athlete Mike Matthews.

As he heads into the summer before his junior season, the No. 65 recruit in the On3 Consensus is already up to 27 offers. That includes major national programs like Clemson, Georgia, Notre Dame, USC, Ohio State and more.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder has already made it out to three campuses, checking out the Fighting Irish, Bulldogs and Tigers in recent months. He is far from naming any leaders in his recruitment and is still very much open to offers. But those three early on have stood out.

He’s now been at Clemson twice and is really connecting with Dabo Swinney and his staff.

“I love how they treat their players. They have a program called P.A.W.,” he said. “It’s about career-wise after football. They believe you’re only in the league for eight years, so they focus on after the fact and put it all into the players.”

The Tigers’ coaching staff has made him feel like a priority early on, a rarity given how few offers they give out prior to prospects starting their junior season. But it was their enjoyment of coaching that has really caught his eye.

“I’d probably say the youth camp on my last visit stood out,” Matthews added. “All the coaches were out there, even Dabo Swinney. And they were all just locked in, even with kids. That shows how much they care about coaching.”

Georgia offer a big deal for Mike Matthews

As a Peach State prospect, few offers carry quite as much weight as one from Georgia does. Matthews received one from the Bulldogs this spring and also got to spend time head coach Kirby Smart.

“It just means a lot to be offered by such a high program that has faith in me and believes in my abilities,” he said. “I really liked sitting down with Coach Smart; I got to talk to him one-on-one with him and my family. He’s a really cool dude and I was just locking in to getting information from such an important person like that.”

Notre Dame also involved early on

Another program who grabbed Matthews’ attention is Notre Dame. He visited the Fighting Irish in November, but has been in almost constant communication since then.

“It was good,” he said of the visit, “but it was really after the fact. They pretty much dug into me, and I’m always on the phone with them building a relationship. I talk to Coach Brown and Coach O’Leary. … As I got to know all of them, they’re all cool people and good to their players. And they all tell me that, it’s not just one-sided coming from the coaches.”

Auburn and Alabama are among a long list of programs Matthews would like to see, and though he is early in the recruiting process, two things are important.

“I’m looking for atmosphere and culture [in the program] because I’m practically living there,” he said. “I want to be in a place where I’m going to have fun at.”