With the entire Matthews family in the audience, Falcons first-round pick Jake Matthews made his first trip to the Flowery Branch facility as their newest addition. Hall of Fame dad Bruce was in the crowd along with mom Carrie.
The offensive tackle said throughout the entire process leading up to last night, he always liked his meetings with the Falcons’ staff.
“Throughout this whole process whether it was doing workouts or visiting, Atlanta always felt like the right place,” Matthews said. “Secretly and honestly I was really hoping I would end up here.”
After coming off a four-win season in 2013 and with the need for offensive line help, the Falcons decided to use the sixth overall pick to grab Matthews out of Texas A&M. Matthews believes this is a great situation to come in to, after such a tough season.
“I think this pick was a steal,” Matthews said. “Being able to be picked this high and to such a great team. This is a team that can compete for the Super Bowl next year. I’m happy to be a part of it and hopefully can help protect Matt Ryan. I can’t keep saying it, whatever they want me to do I’m going to do it. I’m really excited to get in and start working.”
Growing up as the fourth of seven children in the Matthews household, Jake is no stranger to competition. He’s had it inside the house with his siblings and also on the gridiron from the family name. His dad Bruce is another reason for the expectations, after playing 19 seasons for the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans. His career led him to a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
That said, Bruce has always made it a priority to be dad first and football player/coach second. Especially when imparting advice on his son.
“Don’t change what got you here,” the advice Bruce gave son Jake throughout the draft process.
Jake does not plan on going away from dad’s advice.
“I’ve always been a guy that didn’t say much, just worked hard and just did things the right way.” Jake said. “I’m going to try and have the same mindset to continue doing that for the rest of my career.”
Jake Matthews brought up the fact that he always appreciated just getting love and support from his parents. Never in his life did he feel like he had to play football. His dad Bruce says it was definitely a team effort along with his wife Carrie to build that family mentality.
“We didn’t want to push them in a direction that they weren’t necessarily bent to go in,” Bruce said. “All the ones that have played, have really embraced the opportunity and really excelled at it. It’s been fun to be involved with and obviously it’s my area of passion.”
With Jake now going to the NFL his younger brother Mike is Texas A&M’s starting center, while his older brother Kevin has played in the NFL for the Redskins and Titans.
Jake will now get the opportunity to get work with his teammates, when the Falcons start mini-camp in two weeks.
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