Clay Matthews III

Clay Matthews is one of the most exciting young stars in the NFL and is now a Super Bowl Champion.  Clay followed up a phenomenal rookie season with a MVP type sophomore season that saw him finish 2nd in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting, finishing the year with 14 sacks. In just two years Matthews has transformed into the Packers top defensive player and the NFL’s deadliest sack threat.

Clay became the first Packers rookie to make the Pro Bowl since 1978 when eventual Hall of Famer James Lofton was selected.  Clay’s football success is not a huge surprise, as the Matthews family is one of only two families in NFL history to feature three generations of players.

Clay’s rookie season was one of the best in Packers franchise history, where his team leading 10 sacks were a rookie record.  Matthews had a few defining moments over the course of his rookie season, where he was named NFL Rookie of the Week in Weeks 6 and 10.   Matthews most memorable moment was his outstanding play during the nationally televised Monday Night Football game against Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings, where Matthews ripped the football away from All-Pro Adrian Peterson and returned it for 42 yards, scoring his first career NFL touchdown.

The Matthews family football heritage started with Clay’s grandfather, Clay Sr. in the 1950’s when he played for the San Francisco 49ers.  Carrying on the tradition was Clay’s father, Clay Jr. and uncle Bruce Matthews who combined for 38 NFL seasons and 18 Pro Bowl selections.  Brother Casey currently plays linebacker for the University of Oregon where he hopes to become the next Matthews family member in the NFL as a preseason all-Pac 10 team selection.

The third Matthews family member to play for the University of Southern California, Clay was part of a talented Trojan team that went 46-6 during Matthews’ college career.  After an impressive senior season, Clay was listed among the top linebackers in the 2009 NFL Draft, where he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 2009 NFL Draft Preview magazine.  Clay was selected with the 26th pick in the draft by Packers General Manager Ted Thompson.  Matthews is the only player Thompson has traded up in the 1st round to select since he took over in 2005.

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