Matthew Rea (born November 25, 1991) is a

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

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

who is currently 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 ...

. He previously attended

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

where 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 ...

for the

Spartans Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...

and studied finance.

Early career

Rea 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 ...

Rochester Adams High School Rochester Adams High School (also known as Adams High School, Adams, or AHS) is a public high school located in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and is part of the Rochester Community Schools district. Academics Rochester Adams High School has been ...

, where he was a player while the team won three league championships. He also played

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

at Rochester Adams and was a member while the lacrosse team won two league championships. Rea committed to play for the

Penn Quakers The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 33 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing. School colors There are se ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, and he maintained

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

status in 2010. In 2011, he played in all 10 games for the Quakers as a backup

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. Rea transferred to Michigan State and participated primarily on the scout team as a fullback. He was not eligible to play in 2012 due to rules related to transferring, and did not play any games in 2013. Rea played in three games as a backup fullback in his final season.

Professional career

Rea participated in the regional and national CFL Combines in Toronto. He achieved the highest value of 29 repetitions of the bench press at the regional combine as well as 31 repetitions at the national combine, the most among running backs. Rea was selected in the fourth round of the

2015 CFL Draft The 2015 CFL Draft took place on Tuesday, May 12, 2015, at 8:00 PM ET on TSN2 and RDS2. 62 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. For the fi ...

by the Saskatchewan Roughriders with the 35th overall pick. Rea made the active roster following the preseason as the Roughriders' backup fullback, and he made his CFL debut in the season opener against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on June 27.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rea, Matthew 1991 births Living people American football defensive tackles American football fullbacks Canadian football fullbacks Edmonton Elks players Michigan State Spartans football players Penn Quakers football players Players of American football from Rochester, New York Players of Canadian football from Ontario Saskatchewan Roughriders players Canadian football people from London, Ontario Players of American football from Ontario