Matthews Finds a Home

Jay Matthews knew the time was right. He had been offered by the Washington State Cougars this past weekend while on his official visit, but wanted to talk things over with his family before making his college choice. But when that choice was made, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety prospect from Lake Oswego, Ore. made it quickly.

"Things have changed this morning. I called up Coach (Paul) Wulff this morning and gave him my verbal commitment," Matthews told Scout.com Tuesday morning. Matthews is ranked by Scout.com as the No. 12 player in the state of Oregon, regardless of position.

"I had a chance to sit down with my family and we talked about the positives and negatives - which there weren't a lot of. I decided right away (to commit to Washington State), and I knew I should do it as soon as possible.

The Cougars want Matthews to play safety for them. "They like how I'm aggressive when the ball is in the air, and how I like to make a break and make hits," he said. They also liked how I was a solid tackler on tape. One of the safety positions they roll down into the box and they play as an unblocked linebacker, so I think they liked how I could take on blockers in the box."

Matthews was a First Team All-League selection on offense and defense and Second Team All-State pick on defense. He had four interceptions for Head Coach Steve Coury and the Lakers. He also told Scout that he recently ran a 4.0 20-yard shuttle.

Jay chose Washington State over offers from Northern Arizona and Portland State. "Oregon State had talked to me about a greyshirt offer, and Duke as well, they had called a few days before but it wasn't official," he said. Matthews added that he had an official visit set up for NAU this coming weekend, but has since cancelled the trip because of his commitment to the Cougars.

Jay Matthews Scout.com Profile