Matthew Kambolambi Bergeron (born February 26, 2000) is a Canadian-born

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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

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). A native of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, he moved to the United States to play

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 ...

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

Early years

Bergeron was born in

Victoriaville Victoriaville is a town in central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of Arthabask ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, on February 26, 2000 to a Congolese father and Quebec-born mother. He grew up as a native speaker of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, learning

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

in school. Bergeron attended

Cégep de Thetford Cégep de Thetford is a CEGEP, College of general and vocational education (CEGEP) in Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 671 boulevard Frontenac Ouest. It was established in 1969. The Cégep de Thetford welcomes international stud ...

and played for their

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

team before enrolling at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

to play

for the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East Conference. The school's mascot is ...

. He graduated with a degree in social work from the

David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics Falk may refer to: * Falk (name) Falk is a given name and surname cognate with the word falcon. Surname * Adalbert Falk (1827–1900), Prussian minister of culture * Adam Falk (born 1965), Physicist * Alexander A. Falk (1900–1975), New Yo ...

College career

Bergeron played in 46 of Syracuse's games played through 4 seasons, with 39 starts between right tackle and left tackle. He played in all 12 games as a freshman with five starts at right tackle. He started all 11 of the Orange's games during his sophomore season, beginning the year at right tackle before moving to left tackle for the last eight games. Bergeron was named honorable mention All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) in 2021. He was named a team captain entering his junior year in 2022, being voted second-team All-ACC by the end of the season. He also attended the

2023 Senior Bowl The 2023 Senior Bowl was a college football all-star game played on February 4, 2023, at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game featured prospects for the 2023 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL), predominantly ...

, playing as a guard.

Professional career

The

selected Bergeron with the 38th overall pick in the second round of the

2023 NFL Draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

. He was also ranked the #1 Canadian prospect ahead of the

2023 CFL Draft The 2023 CFL National Draft was a selection of National players by Canadian Football League teams that took place on May 2, 2023, at 8:00 pm ET. 72 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, ...

, but ultimately went undrafted. He is the first NFL–draftee from his hometown of

Victoriaville, Quebec Victoriaville is a town in central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of Arthabaska ...

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bioSyracuse Orange bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergeron, Matthew 2000 births Living people American football offensive tackles Black Canadian players of American football Canadian expatriate American football people in the United States Canadian people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Francophone Quebec people Players of American football from Quebec Syracuse Orange football players Atlanta Falcons players