Matthew Bedford sat between his parents at a table in Cordova (Tenn.) High's auditorium, three hats resting on the table in front of him.
The offensive lineman gave his verbal pledge to Indiana after an official visit in mid-June, but SEC programs Mississippi State and South Carolina continued to make a late push heading into National Signing Day.
Despite the suspense, his ceremony ended with him picking up the IU hat. Now an early enrollee, Bedford's experience early on has reassured him he made the right choice.
“You got a Maserati right here,” Bedford said of IU, “then the car show comes and shows you everything. They gave a couple things that rivaled Indiana, but at the end of it all, it brought me back to my bases of what I wanted and what I was actually hungry for. Indiana was able to feed me everything I needed.”
Considered a 3-star offensive tackle and the No. 26 player in Tennessee by Rivals, Bedford rewarded IU offensive line coach Darren Hiller and special teams coordinator William Inge for their persistence. The staff as a whole made a lasting impression that they still show toward Bedford as an official member of the program.
“The coaches, ever since my unofficial (visit in June), and them seeing me at the Memphis camp, they’ve been hitting me up like, ‘Hey, how you doin’ buddy?’ They’re talking about mom and dad, and being able to have that presence throughout my whole recruitment, that reminded me that I made the right choice and that they were there for my best interests,” Bedford said. “Then, actually being here at this point, it reassures me because they’re checking in on me. They’re texting me, ‘How’s class going? How you doing? Are there any challenges I can help you with?’ It really reassures that I made the right choice.”
The strength and conditioning program under the guidance of Director of Athletic Performance David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea also proved to be a key factor in his decision.
With their help, he's slowly making gains in the weight room. Listed at 6-foot-6, 270 pounds on his official IU Athletics bio, he weighed in at 280 last week.
“Coach Ballou would like me to be at 290 (pounds),” Bedford said. “As of right now, I’m at 280. So I’ve got a good 10 pounds (to add). I feel like I’ll be able to hit that in the next week or so. I’m gaining weight well. I’m trending in the right direction.”
Since joining the program in early January, Bedford has proudly shared his adventures on campus via social media, as seen below.
In a way, each is a small reminder that he did make the right choice after all.
“Now that I’m here, it’s a dream come true,” Bedford said. “I’m just taking it all in. I want to show everybody back home that this is where it’s at. This is the place that I want to be and I’ve wanted to show everybody that this is truly a blessing to be here.”
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