Josue Matías (born January 6, 1993) is a former

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

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 gu ...

who last played for the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. Upon signing with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

in 2015, he became the first Dominican-born player in the NFL.

Early life

Matías was born in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

and moved to

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a City (New Jersey), city in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in Ne ...

with his family when he was six. He attended Union City High School. Matías was a four-star recruit by Rivals.com. He originally committed to

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

to play

but changed to

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

College career

After spending his true freshman season in 2011 as a backup, Matías started all 13 games as a sophomore in 2012. As a junior in 2013, he started all 14 games, including the 2014 BCS National Championship Game. He returned as a starter his senior season in 2014.

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

Matias signed with the

as an undrafted free agent following the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

. He was waived on September 5, 2015, and was signed to the practice squad the next day, where he spent his entire rookie season. On August 17, 2016, Matias was waived/injured by the Titans after suffering a torn patellar tendon and was placed on injured reserve. On September 2, 2017, Matias was waived by the Titans.

Ottawa Redblacks

Matias joined the Ottawa Redblacks in June 2018. He started his first game since the

2015 Rose Bowl The 2015 Rose Bowl (officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual) was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2015, at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California. T ...

in October 2018. Matias announced his retirement from football on March 30, 2019.

References

External links

Florida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matias, Josue 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Union City, New Jersey Players of American football from Hudson County, New Jersey American football offensive guards Florida State Seminoles football players Tennessee Titans players Ottawa Redblacks players Canadian football offensive linemen