Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Steelers LB Matakevich ready for starting shot
Tyler Matakevich’s signature red beard is a jagged mess.
All knots and snarls, a series of small mushroom clouds exploding from his jowls.
The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker knows it’s time for a trim but he’s a little particular about the way he wants it cut, so Matakevich decided to hold off until he could get back home to Connecticut, where a good friend has doubled as his barber for years.
Then organized team activities and minicamp started and the itching nearly became too much.
“I sort of forgot that it’s a little different when it’s hot out,” Matakevich said with a laugh.
The player nicknamed “Dirty Red” by coach Mike Tomlin as a rookie two years ago expects to have the beard a little more under control when the Steelers report for training camp next month.
Considering the workload Matakevich could carry in 2018, that’s probably wise.
The seventh-round pick in 2016 will be given every chance to earn the starting linebacker spot created by Ryan Shazier’s spinal injury.
No pressure or anything, all Matakevich has to do is take over for a Pro Bowler and good friend who also happened to be one of the most physically gifted players in the NFL.
Matakevich is doing it by leaning on Shazier, who has become a de facto coach while continuing his recovery from the collision in Cincinnati last December that altered both the course of his career and his life.
When Matakevich wasn’t sure about a specific coverage during a workout on Tuesday, he trotted over to Shazier’s golf cart and started peppering him with questions.
“I saw like, ‘Hey Bro, what are we doing here?’ Stuff like that,” Matakevich said. “He just helps you out. I’m so thankful for that.”
And for the opportunity to play at all. The Steelers took a flyer on Matakevich when they selected him with the 246th overall pick in the 2016 draft following a highly productive college career at Temple in which he recorded at least 100 tackles in each of his four seasons.
The numbers and the awards — such as being the 2015 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year — were hard to dismiss.
So too, were the other ones. Like his sluggish 4.81-second 40-yard dash time at the combine and his 6-foot-1, 235-pound frame that makes him more fire hydrant than fighter jet.
Still, Matakevich carved out a roster spot by making himself a special teams ace — he’s already blocked two punts in two seasons — and is keenly aware that in most places the prospects for seventh-rounders is iffy at best. Pittsburgh, however, is not most places.
“These coaches love you,” Matakevich said. “They’re going to tell you what you need to do to be successful. They’re going to put you in the right spots and at the end of the day it’s on you. You’ve got to be able to do whatever it takes.”