Oregon Ducks’ line-backer Casey Matthews will not have shoulder surgery and will appear in Pro Day
Oregon Ducks’ line-backer Casey Matthews from the University of Oregon will not have surgery on his left shoulder and will be taking part in Oregon’s Pro Day. In Sunday’s National Football League Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana,
Matthews was taking part in the bench press drill when he injured his left shoulder.
Matthews plans on doing every drill in the Pro Day on 10 March, 2011 for the Ducks, except for the bench press. Due to the injury, Matthews could not perform the field drills on Monday.
The line-backer said that he was attempting the 14th repetition of the bench press drill when his shoulder dislocated and he was unable to finish the exercise. It was “a freak accident,” according to Matthews.
Matthews started as a true freshman in one game during his first year at Oregon, but participated in the first 11. He had accumulated 18 tackles in those games until he suffered an injury to his shoulder and was not able to participate in the 2007 Sun Bowl
against the Oregon State University Beavers.
In his sophomore season, he played in all 13 games and had 67 tackles, 13 of which were tackles for a loss of yardage, and two sacks. He had nine tackles in three different games, against the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, Stanford University Cardinals
and the University of California Golden Bears football teams. Matthews ended the season as the number six tackler on the team and third in tackles for a loss of 13 for 44 yards.
College football insiders said that Matthews was "fundamentally sound, he diagnoses plays well and has a knack for filling the proper lane, a couple of keys to being a successful inside linebacker." He had a great game in the BCS National Championship Game,
in which he forced a fumble from Auburn University’s quarter-back, Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton.
Matthews has always had football in his blood, as his grandfather, played in the NFL and his father was an All-American at the University of Southern California that had spent 19 years in the NFL. His uncle also played in the NFL and his brother, Clay Matthews,
was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 2009 NFL Draft and recently won the Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers. His cousin, Kevin Matthews, is a centre for the Tennessee Titans.
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