“On the dotted line” is a new series spotlighting local athletes and their journeys to signing National Letters of Intent. If you know of an athlete who’s already signed or will be and should be featured, please email bwalton@journalnet.com.
On Feb 7, 2024, Teague Matthews’s small-town dream came true.
He signed his National Letter of Intent with the University of Utah to play football and will be a preferred walk-on for the Utes. Matthews explained his decision to head to Salt Lake and join the Utes.
“Through the recruiting process, it can be a little bit stressful for me. There were schools interested, but Utah was the first school that believed in me, which meant a lot to me,” Matthews said. “There were other schools, but I appreciated Utah for taking a chance on me and believing in me.”
Matthews resides in Rockland − a town of 300 people. He is a three-sport star in football, basketball, and track and field. Matthews was excellent at all three, but he eventually chose football, which he’s been playing since kindergarten.
On the gridiron, Matthews, who is 6-foot-5-inches and 205 pounds, dominated at the Class 1A Division II level. He began his career as a wide receiver, and for head coach Gerry Hunter, it was a weapon they used often. He excelled at the receiver position, earning all-state honors his sophomore season.
But then out of team necessity, Matthews switched over to quarterback a few games into his junior year. He was a natural at that too.
Matthews racked up 3,897 yards of total offense and 64 touchdowns in leading the Bulldogs to their state semifinal appearance in 33 years this past season. They ended up taking third at state after a 67-18 loss to eventual state runner-up, Camas County.
It all resulted in him being picked as the first-team all-state quarterback.
Matthews’ elite athletic talent did not stop on the gridiron, though. He was also an excellent basketball player.
As just a sophomore, he helped Rockland win its first-ever state championship with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Matthews also made the play of the game. With the lights shinning the brightest and the Bulldogs needing one last stop, he blocked a 3-pointer at the buzzer to preserve the 53-51 win over Camas County in the Class 1A DII final. He was the Class 1A DII Player of the Year that season.
Matthews then repeated the following year before being a first-team all-state selection with 17.3 points, 15.6 rebounds, 3.2 blocks and 2.4 steals per game during the 2023-24 campaign. He also recorded 14-double-doubles. Rockland took third and won the consolation title at state, respectively, in those seasons.
Matthews finished with 1,277 career points and 1,024 rebounds. He won a state championship in the high jump with a personal record of 6 feet, 2 inches his sophomore year, too. But despite all of the success, Matthews never really considered going to college for either sport.
Because everything always came back to football. So in the end, after a long recruiting process, he chose Utah.
Hunter, who is also Matthew’s next door neighbor, was pleased to see him get his opportunity at Utah.
“I feel in our neck of the woods, the University of Utah is about as good as it gets if you’re wanting to play big-time college football,” he said. “University of Utah is the place to go if you want to get to the NFL. The University of Utah is a pretty good place to go.”
Matthews wows people with his play on the field, court, or track. But for Hunter, the best thing about Matthews is who he is when he isn’t playing.
“They don’t come any better than Teague Matthews. I can tell you that right now,” he said. “He’s a yes sir type of guy. You ask him to do whatever, and it’s, ‘Yes, sir.’ He wants to win and be successful. But at the same time, he wants to have fun. And he wants to be a good teammate, and as a coach, that’s what you’re looking for.
“He’s just an awesome kid, and he’s good-hearted. He would give his shirt off his back. Plus, he’s a very hard worker. Nobody’s going to outwork him. He’s just a great kid all-around.”
Matthews had a long recruiting process, hearing from a plethora of schools. So when he was finally able to put pen to paper, he couldn’t have been happier.
“That day was a good day. It felt like a lot of stress was taken off my shoulders from the recruiting process,” he said. “And I was extremely grateful for the people around me who helped me get through that. My teammates, my family and my Savior. It was a good day.”
When he arrives on campus for the Utes, Matthews has a lot to prove and a lot of hard work ahead of him. Being from a small town, Matthews knows his work is cut out for him and is ready for the challenge.
“I know that I’m going to have to work hard. And then it’s not going to be handed to me. But I think coming from a small town that it’s going to help me,” he said, “I’m going to be somebody who is going to work my hardest, and I’m in it for the team. I will always be a good teammate and do whatever it takes for the team to win.”
If Matthews ever gets to run out of the tunnel at Rice Eccles Stadium, people will see a kid from Rockland who beat the odds and achieved his dreams. Wherever, whatever situation you are in, whether you come from a town with 300 or a town with 1,214,000 people, anything is possible if you work at it.
Matthew gets to live out his dream of playing for the red, black, and white and proudly represent his name and his community as he strives to be the best person and player he can be on and off the field.
Most Popular
Comments / 0