Miami may look to build pass rush out of “Clay”

By Adam Sweeney  |   Wednesday, April 01, 2009  |  Comments( 1 )

Miami Dolphins
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My origins of following football are deeply rooted in the columbia blue uniforms of the Houston Oilers. They broke my heart more times than Estella did Pip's in "Great Expectations." Their best teams were filled with hungry, perhaps overachieving players with unmatched amounts of work ethic. Bruce Matthews was one of those players and his reputation won't be lost on the Miami Dolphins' Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano as they look at his nephew, Clay Matthews Jr., a linebacker from USC who's set to be chosen in this month's NFL draft.

Matthews doesn't have the reputation of Trojan teammates Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga, two other first-round linebackers coming out, but he is moving up draft boards. Matthews blew up at the combine, running a remarkable 4.67-second 40-yard dash. In fact, it may be the Houston Texans who end up waxing nostalgic and taking Matthews with the 15th pick. That may be a little high to grab a player who only has one season of collegiate starts on his resume. It was an impressive season, no doubt, as Matthews had nine sacks and was fourth on the team in tackles. Not bad for a guy who was a walk-on for the Trojans.

Matthews is projected as a late first-round pick and fits perfectly into Parcells' player pedigree. Matthews is a self-confident underdog who will do whatever it takes to get the job done. If the Dolphins are looking for an aggressive linebacker who fits their scheme, they could do far worse than Matthews.

If Matthews is off the board when the Dolphins are set to use the 26th overall pick, they could go for Northern Illinois linebacker Larry English, a player Realfootball365 will preview soon. At this point, though, we are guessing that the Dolphins would feel more comfortable grabbing a player from Pete Carroll's den. Because of that, Matthews could be Miami's man.
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About Adam Sweeney

Adam Sweeney spent 4 years as an opinions and arts & entertainment columnist with the Lone Star Lutheran, also working with Sports Illustrated.com. Along with his work on Realfootball 365 he currently is a contributor for Film School Rejects, SLAM Online, Talkhoops.net, and C-Heads Magazine.
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