Indiana head football coach Tom Allen was very familiar with the talents of transfer wide receiver D.J. Matthews during his career at Florida State University.
It is a major reason why Allen reached out to Matthews after he graduated from FSU when the talented receiver and specialist entered the transfer portal.
"When I first entered the portal, Indiana was one of first schools to reach out and I heard a lot about Coach Allen. For Coach Allen to reach out to a guy who's already graduated, a guy who already had experience, a guy who had played and a guy who gave me an opportunity to join a winning program, I couldn’t pass up that opportunity to play for one of the greatest coaches in college right now. That had a lot to do with it, and Indiana is everything that I had imagined," Matthews told the media earlier this month.
Now, the fifth year coach is seeing what the transfer, who has one year of eligibility remaining, can do up close and personal every day.
And, needless to say, Allen is impressed, noting that Matthews has shown an ability to escape tacklers in space as he showed his talents in Indiana's first scrimmage recently during spring practice.
“D.J. Matthews continues to be a guy who makes plays in space, has the twitch to be able to make guys miss, get open,” Allen said.
During spring practice this season, Matthews has impressed coaches and has filled in nicely as a slot receiver for the Hoosiers.
A season ago, the 5-foot-10, 154-pound wide receiver hauled in 36 receptions for 355 yards and three touchdowns. He started six games in 2018 and made 42 receptions for 382 yards and one touchdown.
Matthews excelled primarily on punt returns, ranking 10th in team history with 582 punt return yards. He entered the season ranked eighth among active FBS players with an average of 10.4 yards per return.
Indiana offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan told the media recently that he is not a fan of comparisons to Philyor and wants Matthews to focus solely on being the best player he can be for the Hoosiers.
"I do not like to make player comparisons. Whop was an exceptional player for us and contributed greatly to our success here. We wish him the very best and thankful for his contributions. D.J. is looking to create that role for himself just like the rest of the players on this team. We try not to make comparisons and I think they are different players. They are not the same person. D.J. has had a great attitude about trying to learn what we do here and trying to improve and get better each and every day. We just want D.J. to be D.J. We are not going to try and make him be somebody he is not. We just want him to be the very best version of D.J. and we are looking forward to that. He has had a great mindset and great mentality. He has gotten along with the players on our team and has done a nice job. We are excited for him and thankful that he is here. We do not make comparisons. We want D.J. to be himself and know that will be enough to contribute to our team," Sheridan said.
How does Matthews feel about that?
"My role is whatever Coach Heard and Coach Allen need me to do. Now, they have me in the slot but things can change. I am here to play my role. I am super excited. We threw the ball 52-55 times a game and lot of opportunities for receivers to go out and make plays. Definitely excited," Matthews said.
In addition, Matthews is looking at helping Indiana in the return game.
"I love special teams and take it tremendously serious. That’s what got me on the field when I first got to college," Matthews said.
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