Matthew Anthony Corral (born January 31, 1999) 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 with ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

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 College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Ole Miss and was drafted by the Panthers in the third round of the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

Early years

Of Mexican heritage, Corral was born on January 31, 1999, in

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist des ...

. He later attended

Oaks Christian School Oaks Christian School (OCS) is a co-educational, college-preparatory, non-denominational Christian school serving grades 5–12. Oaks Christian School is located on in Westlake Village, Los Angeles County, California. The school was established i ...

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vill ...

, before transferring to

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. He later stated he switched schools due to Oaks Christian being for "rich kids" that were "never going to have to work a day in their lives", as well as a physical altercation with a son of

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

that finalized his decision to transfer. Corral totaled over 11,000 yards with 123 touchdowns during his high-school career and played in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He originally committed to play

at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

then the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

before eventually choosing Ole Miss.

College career

2018 season

During his first year at Ole Miss in 2018, Corral played in four games as

Jordan Ta'amu Jordan Taalolo Ta'amu-Perifanos (born December 10, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the DC Defenders of the XFL. He played college football for Ole Miss. Ta'amu has been a member of several National Football League (NFL) teams a ...

's backup. He completed 16 of 22 passes for 239 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. As a result of his limited action in 2018, Corral was redshirted.

2019 season

Corral was named the starting quarterback entering the 2019 season. In a week 2 matchup against

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, he completed 16 of 24 passes for 246 yards, resulting in a 31–17 win. In the game, he set career highs in attempts, passing yards, and completions, leading to him being named SEC freshman of the week. Corral led the Rebels to a 4–8 record in his first season as a starter, completing 105 of 178 passes for 1,362 passing yards, 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Matt Corral exiting field

2020 season

In his first season under new Rebels head coach

Lane Kiffin Lane Monte Kiffin (born May 9, 1975) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. Kiffin formerly was the offensive coordinator for the USC Trojans football team from 2005 to 2006, head coach of the Nati ...

and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, Corral started every game of the abridged 2020 season and improved on his performance from 2019, passing for 3,337 yards with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and he led the Rebels to the 2021 Outback Bowl, where he was named its MVP after Ole Miss defeated the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

by a score of 26–20.

2021 season

Corral tied the school record for touchdowns in a game with seven as a junior, throwing for three and rushing for four against the

Tulane Green Wave The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave interco ...

. In what would be his final season at Ole Miss, Corral would lead the Rebels to a 10–2 record and a bowl appearance at the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

. Corral would finish the season with 258 completions of 378 attempts for 3,333 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Corral declared for the

at the end of the season prior to playing in the 2022 Sugar Bowl. There, he suffered a leg injury in the first quarter and was carted off.

College statistics

Professional career

Corral was selected by the

in the third round (94th overall) of the

. He suffered a

Lisfranc injury A Lisfranc injury, also known as Lisfranc fracture, is an injury of the foot in which one or more of the metatarsal bones are displaced from the tarsus. The injury is named after Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, a French surgeon and gynecolo ...

in a preseason game against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and was placed on season-ending

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

References

External links

*
Carolina Panthers bioOle Miss Rebels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corral, Matt 1999 births Living people Players of American football from California Sportspeople from Ventura County, California American football quarterbacks Ole Miss Rebels football players People from Ventura, California Carolina Panthers players Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni