For D.J. Matthews, It Comes Down to This – ‘The Guy Can Play’
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Connor Bazelak had heard the buzz, but had never seen it. It came from teammates and coaches, like the pot of receiving gold at the end of a passing rainbow.
Sometimes you really do have to see to believe.
Bazelak believes now. D.J. Matthews Jr., the Missouri transfer quarterback insists, is the real Indiana receiving deal.
“This was the first time I’d thrown to him. In practice No. 1 (of fall camp), I hit him on two deep throws. I was like, ‘Wow. This guy can play.’”
Matthews is a threat to score as a receiver, a runner, and a returner, having done all of that at Florida State and Indiana. He can move the chains, or burn you deep.
Yes, the guy can play.
“I didn’t see that in the spring,” Bazelak says. “It’s a relief to have him back.”
Matthews missed spring practice because he was still recovering from last season’s knee surgery that cost him the final eight games. It happened in the fourth game against Western Kentucky, and for a while, he wanted no part of a sixth and final season.
Then came the force that is head coach Tom Allen, a man of passion, faith, and resiliency.
“It was a tough decision,” Matthews says. “I was telling my parents that pretty much I was done. But the relationship I built with Coach Allen is very strong. He helped me through my whole process, with religion. He made sure I was a man of God and a man of my word and then on top of that, my children.”
That would be Sevynn and Little D.J.
“I never want to quit. My children look up to me. I'm their hero, so when they get older, they're going to see the trials and tribulations that I went through and all of adversity that I faced. I don't ever want them to see that I quit anything. Finish out no matter the outcome.”
So here he is, a 5-11, 160-pound combination of speed, elusiveness, and toughness. In Matthews’ college career, he’s caught 97 passes for 974 yards and five touchdowns, and returned 60 punts for 665 yards and two TDs.
He’s not all the way back to that form, but he’s getting close.
“I have sore days and at first it was mentally (tough). I had to battle a lot of mental stuff so I could get back out there and get comfortable playing my game.”
Tearing up your ACL, and then enduring surgery and rehab, takes a fierce toll, mentally as much as physically.
For a while, it seemed too much. Matthews felt he wasn’t the player he had been.
And then, last Sunday, it changed.
“That was that day,” he says. “I came out and felt really great. I felt like myself again.
“I was still battling out of a slump (early in fall camp). I was telling my teammates continually, ‘I'm trying to get back, you know, I'm trying to get back. I'm trying to get back to myself. I want to feel better.’
“Just praying and then yesterday I felt like myself. (On Monday) I stacked another day and felt like myself again.”
Matthews’ struggle concerns weren’t shared by quarterback Jack Tuttle.
“He’s great player, and I think he's done a phenomenal job of just coming back from his knee,” Tuttle says. “I can't imagine what he's been through.
“I know he's done a brilliant job in his rehab and getting back with the team. Honestly, you wouldn't even really be able to tell he hurt his knee. He's doing such a good job.”
Beyond that, Tuttle adds, “He’s a great person.”
Perhaps Matthews’ biggest challenge is leading.
“I just have to be me. I've got to be me. I'm not the type of guy to be yelling at people or trying to make sure everybody is doing everything right.
“If I see something, I'll point it out. If people have questions, I help them. Not all the time do I know the answers, so they help me, too.
“It's just building a bond and building trust with one another. That's just what we've been doing as a unit, just growing closer to each other. Guys come over and we hang out.”
