Experience Helps Jacob Matuska In Tight End Transition
Jacob Matuska is no stranger to his “new” position.
For this upcoming season, the Irish senior has switched from a three-year career on the defensive line to tight end, a position he played prominently in his prep days. As a senior at Columbus (Ohio) Bishop Hartley, Matuska snagged 16 catches for 348 yards and four touchdowns for his run-dominant high school team.
His efforts then earned him first team tight end honors on the Columbus Dispatch All-Metro squad, and Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 18 tight end nationally in the 2012 class.
Still, it’s been a few years since he lined up on the offensive side of the ball, and playing that position in high school isn’t quite the same as the level of play required at Notre Dame.
One of the changes Matuska’s made started in conditioning. Notre Dame listed him at 290 pounds last season, but now he’s down to 275, according to the official spring roster.
“When they told me I would be making the transition, I couldn’t stay 290 if I wanted to be successful in this position,” Matuska said. “I worked with the nutrition staff and our training program and really tried to get myself more lean mass.
“It feels right. It feels like I’m more comfortable in this type of situation being an offensive player. It’s been a really good transition for me so far, just from what I’ve seen during the spring.”
There’s also a whole new playbook to learn. Matuska noted that was the biggest difference for him from high school; learning the schemes. His prep team ran the Wing-T, which utilizes a high rate of running plays.
“We didn’t pass much,” he said. “But I think I feel comfortable in the pass game.
“It’s now about learning the different defenses, honestly. In high school it was more block this area instead of someone. Now you have to read and see if it’s Cover 2, see where the linebackers are going and know what the front is.”
Matuska admitted he was a bit taken aback the first few practices in his new role. Three years on defense equals an awful high number of reps on one side of the ball, and now suddenly, he’s lined up on the other side.
“I didn’t really expect it to be that different because I’d played tight end before, but spending three years on defense, it’s quite a change,” he said. “I think the fact I know the snap count at this point and I know what I’m doing, I feel more comfortable in that situation.
“It obviously took a couple practices to get used to it, but I feel like I’m really hitting my stride.”
The number one area the senior said he has to keep working at before fall is the mental game. If he can just nail down the schemes, Matuska believes the rest of his game can fall in place.
“I played tight end, and I knew what it entailed,” he said. “Mostly I just have to learn the schemes, what the offense does and perfecting my technique before I can make my game go above and beyond what it is now.”
Matuska saw action in one game for the Irish last year, the 62-27 victory over UMass. He totaled one tackle in the contest.