If Southern Cal linebacker Clay Matthews plays as long as his uncle and father did in the NFL, he’ll retire after the 2027 season.
Not a bad career.
It would sure make his family proud. His uncle is Bruce Matthews, a former Titan offensive lineman now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His father is Clay Matthews, who played linebacker for the Browns and Falcons.
“I sure hope,’’
Matthews said with a smile at the NFL Combine on Saturday. “Nineteen years is real long time, and I barely made it out of USC after five years. So this should be an interesting experience. I’d love to have a career as long as they did.’’
Matthews is the latest from the famous football family to arrive on the NFL’s doorstep, another product of USC. And he’s the most unlikely of the bunch. He arrived at USC as an undersized walk-on, with only Idaho offering him a Division I scholarship.
Now he’s gearing up for the NFL Draft. He’s regarded as a first or second round pick after a strong final season with the Trojans.
He knows there’s pressure that comes with the name, but he’s ready to accept it, and has already lived it to some extent. His uncle and father were both All-Americans at USC, and his grandfather, also Clay Matthews, played at Georgia Tech in the 1940s and with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1950s.
“I love the pressure that the name Matthews brings upon me,’’
he said. “(My father and uncle) never pressured me into being the player who they are or emulating them or going past what they’d done. They never put too much pressure on me.“
“They have been supportive of what I have been doing and I am very fortunate for that. But at the same time I do have big shoes to fill and I understand that so I am trying to be the best player I possibly can.’’
Matthews said his desire to be good came from growing up in a competitive family. Bruce Matthews has seven children, and Clay is one of five kids in his family.
They pushed each other, which perhaps played a role in Matthews turning himself from a special teams player early in his career into a starter, though that didn’t happen until three games into his senior campaign.
Matthews had 56 tackles, finished third on the team in tackles for loss (9.5) and second in sacks (4.5) in 2008.
When he’s not doing something right, someone in his family will let him know about it. It’s usually Bruce. Clay went to Nashville to watch Bruce and the Titans play against the Raiders in 2001, a day when Eddie George rushed for 200 yards.
“Bruce is a lot quicker to put me down than my father,’’
said Matthews, offering another smile. “He likes to make fun of my sack dances or anything along those lines. But he has a good time and at the same time he compliments me and lets me know the kind of ball I am playing.’’
