Samuel Jason Mathews (born February 9, 1971) is a former

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 ...

offensive tackle in 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 for the Indianapolis Colts (1994–1997) and the Tennessee Oilers/Titans (1998–2004).

Early years

Jason Mathews attended

Bridge City High School A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

Bridge City, Texas Bridge City is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. It is 100 miles east of Houston, near the Gulf of Mexico. The population was 9,546 at the 2020 Census. The town borders the Neches River and Cow Bayou. It is part of the Beaumont&ndash ...

, where he

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in football,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

, and track. After his graduation in 1989, he attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

for one year, playing defensive lineman. He spent his next three years of college eligibility at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. Mathews lettered all three years he was at Texas A&M, and started at right tackle during his junior and senior years. Mathews left A&M at the end of his college eligibility, one credit shy of graduation.

NFL years

Mathews was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the

1994 NFL Draft The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott Ma ...

to play right tackle and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. In his first year with the Colts, he played in 10 games. In his second year, he was the starting right tackle in all 16 regular-season games and the team's 3 playoff games as they fell just short of the

AFC Championship The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

. He played for the Colts for two more years, as left tackle, right tackle, reserve tackle, and on special teams. In 1998, Mathews signed with the Tennessee Oilers (later the Tennessee Titans) as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. The team earned the AFC Champshionship in 1999, and played the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

Super Bowl XXXIV Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis ...

. The Titans list Mathews as being 6'5" tall and weighing 285 pounds. In the 2003 offseason, Mathews returned to school so that he could finish the requirements for his degree. In 2004, Mathews joined other members of the community in personally greeting President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

as he visited Nashville. Mathews continued to play for the Titans, wearing number 76, until 2005.

Post-NFL

In 2005, Mathews announced his retirement from football. He became the associate dean at

Montgomery Bell Academy Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee. History MBA was established in 1867 in the aftermath of the American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861&nb ...

for 11th and 12th grades, and assisted with the school's football program. In 2006, Mathews began working as a facility coordinator for D1 Sports Training in Nashville. The facility is owned by Peyton Manning. Mathews has taught Seminar and coached the football team at

The Ensworth School The Ensworth School is a private school located on two separate campuses in Nashville, Tennessee. The original campus, with grades kindergarten (previously referred to as "pre-first") through eighth, opened in 1958 with 152 students. The school ...

. He has served as the Director of Admission at

Brentwood Academy Brentwood Academy is a coeducational Christian independent college preparatory school located in Brentwood, Tennessee, for grades 6–12. History The charter of Brentwood Academy was signed on November 20, 1969, after ten acres of land on Gr ...

for the last 6 years. He is presently the Dean of Community Engagement at

. He also coaches middle school offensive line at BA.

Personal life

Mathews is married to the former Kim Roy, a fellow native of Bridge City. They have one son and one daughter, Bryce and Baylee. His son, Bryce, plays offensive tackle at the

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia ( Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Lib ...

. He has a brother Jeff who coaches high school football in Texas.

References

External links

Museum of the Gulf Coast Jason Mathews Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Jason 1971 births Living people People from Orange, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football offensive tackles BYU Cougars football players Texas A&M Aggies football players Indianapolis Colts players Tennessee Oilers players Tennessee Titans players