Alexander Mattison (born June 19, 1998) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at Boise State and was drafted by the Vikings in the third round, 102nd overall of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Early years

Mattison attended

San Bernardino High School San Bernardino High School (SBHS) is an American public high school and city located at 1850 North E Street within San Bernardino, California and a member of the San Bernardino City Unified School District. SBHS was granted charter as a city in 196 ...

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...

, where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

. He rushed for over 2,000 yards in each of his final two seasons, going for 2,017 yards and 26

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

as a junior and 2,057 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior in 2015. Mattison was selected to play in the Inland Valley Football Classic following his senior season. In addition to football, Mattison also ran track and wrestled. As a senior, he won the Mountain Valley League title in the 110 meters hurdles. His personal-bests are 14.95 seconds in the 110m hurdles, 11.34 in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contes ...

, 23.34 in the 200 meters, 22'9" (6.93m) in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

and 46'5.5" (14.16m) in the shot put. He also won a league wrestling title at 195 pounds and was named all-league as a junior. He committed to

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding ...

to play college football.

College career

As a true freshman at Boise State in 2016, Mattison appeared in all 13 games and had 328 yards on 67 carries with four touchdowns. As a sophomore he played in all 14 games, rushing for 1,086 yards on 212 carries and 12 touchdowns. As a junior in 2018, he rushed for 1,415 yards on 302 carries with 17 touchdowns in 13 games. He was the Offensive MVP of the

2018 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game The 2018 Mountain West Conference Championship Game was played on Saturday, December 1, 2018, at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho, to determine the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, 2018 college football, football champion of the Mountai ...

after rushing for 200 yards and a touchdown. After the season, Mattison entered the 2019 NFL Draft. He cited his reason that "You can only play as long as your body lets you, and at this position, you can't assume it'll last forever." Mattison didn't miss a game in his college career despite needing offseason surgeries on his shoulder and ankle.

Professional career

The

selected Mattison in the third round with the 102nd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut in the 2019 regular season opener against the Atlanta Falcons. He had nine carries for 49 yards in the 28–12 victory. In Week 3 against the Oakland Raiders, Mattison rushed 12 times for 58 yards and his first career rushing touchdown as the Vikings won 34–14. Overall, he finished his rookie season with 462 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. On October 11, 2020, during ''Sunday Night Football'' against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5, Mattison finished with 20 carries for 112 rushing yards as the Vikings lost 26–27. Dalvin Cook was injured in the game, allowing Mattison the rushing opportunities for his first game with at least 100 rushing yards as a professional.

Personal life

Mattison is a Christian. He is fluent in Spanish.

References

External links

Minnesota Vikings bio

Boise State Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattison, Alexander 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from San Bernardino, California Players of American football from California American football running backs Boise State Broncos football players Minnesota Vikings players