William Clay Matthews III (born May 14, 1986) is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League for 11 seasons (NFL), primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Matthews is the all-time sack leader for the Packers (with 83.5), as well as a six-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time All-Pro. He was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2024.
After attending Agoura High School in Agoura Hills, California, Matthews was a walk-on student athlete at the University of Southern California for the USC Trojans football team under head coach Pete Carroll. At USC, Matthews was a standout special teams player, winning three consecutive Special Teams Player of the Year awards from 2006 to 2008. He also played reserve outside linebacker during those years before moving into a starting role his senior season. During his college career, Matthews was a part of three Pac-10 Championship teams.
Matthews was considered a top prospect for the 2009 NFL draft. He was ultimately selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the draft (26th overall) after the team traded up to make the selection. As a rookie, Matthews recorded 10 sacks while playing outside linebacker. He topped that total in 2010 with 13.5 sacks, helping the Packers to their Super Bowl XLV victory. Matthews continued his role as a leading pass rusher, recording at least six sacks in the first nine seasons he played. Matthews also showed his athleticism and abilities by playing both inside and outside linebacker during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
A member of the Matthews family of football players, he is the brother of former NFL linebacker Casey Matthews, the son of former NFL linebacker Clay Matthews Jr., and the nephew of Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews.
Early life Matthews was born in the Northridge section of Los Angeles, the son of Leslie and Clay Matthews Jr., a professional football player. The family has a history of professional football players. Matthews' grandfather was Clay Matthews Sr., his brother is linebacker Casey Matthews, and his uncle is Bruce Matthews. Matthews also has cousins involved in football: Kevin Matthews, Jake Matthews, and Mike Matthews. His two older brothers, Kyle and Brian, both members of National Championship teams during their time with USC Trojans football, work in the commercial real estate business in Tennessee and online sports gambling business in Ohio, respectively. His younger brother, Casey, played college football with Oregon Ducks football, making an appearance in a national championship game in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. Casey played professionally for several seasons. His sister, Jennifer, is often featured on NFL Network where she discusses fantasy football.
Matthews attended Agoura High School in Agoura Hills, California, where he played for the Chargers. Physically, Matthews was a late bloomer. His father was the team's defensive coordinator, but declined to start his son because he was physically undersized. Matthews began developing physically in his senior season, but only garnered interest from Division I FCS schools and local community colleges. Matthews has described his own recruiting status out of high school as "not applicable". Like his father and uncle, Matthews opted to attend the University of Southern California with hopes of becoming a walk-on for the Trojans football team.
College career
Matthews attended the University of Southern California and played for the Trojans from 2004 to 2008 under head coach Pete Carroll. Though he was the son of an All-Pro NFL linebacker, Matthews entered USC as an unheralded, walk-on student athlete. During his first season, USC's 2004 BCS National Championship, Matthews played only on the scout team and turned down several playing opportunities during garbage time during the fourth quarters of games to preserve his redshirt status and remaining seasons of NCAA eligibility. Matthews remained a nonathletic scholarship (a "walk on") reserve linebacker during the 2005 season and played mainly on special teams. He was granted full athletic scholarship status at the beginning of the 2006 season. Matthews continued to play reserve linebacker in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, and made two starts in 2007 in place of injured teammate Brian Cushing. He was awarded USC's Co-Special Teams Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007 and blocked two field goals in the later season.
During the offseason, Matthews committed to weight training and conditioning programs to gain size and improve his performance level and stamina. At the beginning of the 2008 season, defensive coordinator Nick Holt, Carroll, and Norton decided to try using Matthews in a hybrid "elephant" position, where Matthews would stand in the position of defensive end, but use the speed and tactics of a linebacker; the coaches had used Cushing in the position in a similar manner in 2006. The experiment was successful, as Matthews recorded 4.5 sacks while playing alongside his other NFL-bound teammates Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga, and Kaluka Maiava. Furthermore, Matthews continued his spectacular special teams play and was awarded USC's Co-Special Teams Player of the Year in 2008, making Matthews the only player in USC history to be awarded three consecutive Special Teams Player of the Year awards. He was a participant in the 2009 Senior Bowl and was considered a top prospect for the 2009 NFL draft.
Matthews was one of 12 senior USC football players, including the four linebackers Cushing, Maiava, Matthews, and Maualuga, invited to the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine. Matthews, Maualuga, and Cushing were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrateds 2009 NFL Draft Preview magazine, as all three were regarded by it as potential first-round selections. He was inducted into the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame on June 25, 2023.
Professional career
Green Bay Packers 2009 On August 7, 2008, the Green Bay Packers traded Brett Favre to the New York Jets for what would become the Jets' third-round draft pick (83rd overall) in the 2009 NFL draft.
On draft day, April 25, 2009, the Packers traded their second-round pick (41st overall, Darius Butler), their third-round pick (73rd overall, Derek Cox, Jacksonville Jaguars), and the 83rd overall pick acquired for Favre (Brandon Tate) to the New England Patriots for a first-round pick (26th overall) and a fifth-round pick (162nd overall, Jamon Meredith) in that year's draft. The Packers used the first-round pick obtained from the Patriots to acquire Matthews.
Kevin Greene, the former All-Pro linebacker who is third on the all-time sack list with 160 (most ever by a linebacker), was hired by Dom Capers in 2009 to coach the outside linebacker position. He saw a lot of himself in Matthews, but feared the Packers would not be able to draft him. Analysts were shocked when the Packers traded up for Matthews, whom they did not regard as a first-round draft prospect due to his limited playing experience at USC (only starting the final ten games of his senior season.) Greene later stated that Matthews has a "set of skills that I have not seen in an outside linebacker. Clay has a set of skills that I didn't have. He has another gear I didn't have. He's better than Kevin Greene was."
Matthews scored his first career touchdown during a Monday Night Football game on October 5, 2009, against the Minnesota Vikings when he stripped the ball from running back Adrian Peterson and ran the ball back for a touchdown.
In Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys, Matthews had another outstanding game: recording one tackle, recovering two fumbles forced by cornerback Charles Woodson, and sacking Dallas quarterback Tony Romo to make him a nominee again for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. For the second time in as many nominations, Matthews was voted Rookie of the Week for his performance.
In Week 12 against the Detroit Lions, he made three tackles, assisted on two more, and sacked Daunte Culpepper twice. He was nominated for and won the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week award for his performance.
Matthews had arguably the best game in his young career in Week 13 when he was awarded the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award. Matthews had six tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in the Packers' 27–14 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
In the Packers' December 13, 2009, contest against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, Matthews recorded his eighth sack of the season which put him into a three-way tie with former Packers Tim Harris and Vonnie Holliday for the team record of most sacks in a rookie season (1982–present). The following week, Matthews recorded two more sacks against the Pittsburgh Steelers to claim the rookie record.
He was added to the 2010 Pro Bowl NFC squad, replacing Lance Briggs. He was the first Packers' rookie to earn a Pro Bowl selection since wide receiver James Lofton in 1978.
Matthews recorded 51 tackles, 10 sacks, seven pass deflections, three fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble in his rookie season. He played in all 16 games, starting at ROLB in 13 of them. Matthews led the Packers in QB pressures with 45.5. He finished third for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, losing to his former USC teammate Brian Cushing. Matthews was named NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year and set the Packers franchise record for most sacks in a season by a rookie, with 10.0.
2010 Matthews took a different approach to the game in the 2010 season. After seeing him double-teamed and constantly chipped by running backs in the NFC wild card game against the Arizona Cardinals, Dom Capers decided to move Matthews around the field. Matthews eventually ended up playing mostly at LOLB, but he would roam around the field, playing also at the ROLB position and sometimes in the middle. Matthews finished the season with 60 tackles, 13.5 sacks (fourth in the league), four pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and an interception through 15 games in 2010. He became the first Packer to record six sacks in the first two games of the season and had 8.5 sacks in the first five weeks, but slowed down the latter part of the season (five sacks in the last 10 games due to a stress fracture in his lower leg). He earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Weeks 2 and 9. Matthews was named to the 2011 Pro Bowl NFC roster for the second straight year and was named to the All-Pro team for the first time in his career. Matthews was awarded with the NFL's defensive player of the month award for September after recording six sacks in the first two weeks of the 2010 season. Matthews recorded a career-high 55.0 quarterback pressures. He was named SN-NFL Defensive Player of the Year and NFC Defensive Player of the Year, and won the Butkus Award. Matthews finished a close second (17 votes to 15) to Troy Polamalu in the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting, notable in that both led their defenses to Super Bowl XLV.