If you are looking for the top recruit in the Northwest without an offer look no further then Lake Oswego. Alex Matthews (6-3 205 QB Sr.) sent Jesuit packing less then a week ago on ESPN U in front of a national television audience. He has been nothing short of outstanding the first 4 games of the season leading his Lakers to a 4-0 record against some of the top teams in the northwest. (Central Catholic 49-28, Skyline WA 56-46, Jesuit 49-21)
There wasn’t a tougher non league schedule in the state and Matthews embraced the opportunity. “We all knew what the schedule looked like and it just made us work that much harder in the off season”. Matthews backed up 6-6 Austin Kent last season who lead the Lakers to the semi’s, which brought questions about Matthews experience to the forefront. To say those questions have been answered would be an understatement. Thus far in 2011 Matthews has thrown 11 Td’s with 0 interceptions on 44/64 passing for 806 yards. This has all been done against some of the top defenses in the region.
Over the summer Matthews did very well on the camp circuit traveling to different NIKE events and training with Taylor Barton. He attended NFTC’s at the University of Georgia, Stanford, USC, and Oregon. He won MVP Honors at U of O for QB’s which put an exclamation point on his summer. More than anything Alex has looked very comfortable being the leader of the Lakers. He has found comfort with lifetime friend and receiver Stevie Coury (5-10 165 WR Sr.) catching anything and everything thrown his way.
He says, “Stevie’s incredible, he just runs crisp routes that a lot of DB’s can’t handle”. Coury had 4 touchdown receptions against Jesuit and 3 against Westview adding to his already impressive season total.
When looking at the overall package Matthews brings a lot of important intangibles to the table; He has a 3.95 GPA, his brother Jay Matthews is a Division 1 DB at Washington St, and he has grown up in a football environment.
“The Three Rivers Conference is extremely tough this year and any team can sneak up and bite you if you are not prepared”, Matthews said. Matthews will be moving up in the rankings and listed as the #2 QB statewide behind Dillon Miller of Sheldon. He has an ideal frame and has been running the ball well when need be (3 rushing Td’s). You can expect his phone to be ringing more and his audience to be larger as his performances continue.
Alex is a class kid that is playing like a top tier quarterback. We will keep tabs on LO and Matthews as they look to bring home that ever so elusive state title.
