Will Matthews on running marathons, Texas in the SEC, and how he committed to Texas

Former Texas Longhorn and current sideline reporter Will Matthews join the show to talk Texas football with Cam and Andrew. They talk about Will's decision to run the New York Marathon, what he's most excited for in the SEC, and how he ended up at Texas after not being recruited by Mack Brown originally. 

Episode Transcript

(00:04):
And we're back to the Craigway Show. Have a message for Craig share it
by using the talkback feature on theIhearts Radio WAPP. Cameron Parker filling in
for Craigway alongside Andrews Zimmel, andplease to be joined in the studio by
our current sideline reporter on the LonghornRadio Network, of course, a four

(00:26):
year at letterman at the University ofTexas, a Westwood High School alone.
We welcome in Will Matthews. Will, how you doing. I'm doing really
really good. You know, it'sa starting to get hot. Yeah,
Texas, so better enjoy better getto the lake. Huh yeah, we're
getting close to getting to Triple Ditch. It's your how's your summer? BN,
what's your summer like for Will Matthewswhen you're not on the sideline dealing

(00:49):
with that one hundred degree weather offthe turf at DKR. Some's for me
here, I got three boys,busy, busy day, banker by day,
sideline reporter by night by night,and so by weekend. So a
lot of it is just you know, trying to keep connected to the game

(01:11):
and connected to the sports world.Who's doing what? What? Angel Reese
is doing and you know, yougot you gotta gotta stay connected to it
and then little travel here and there. But all I'm doing is thinking about
college football, thinking about beating backa DQR on a Saturday. Now we're
talking before the break about you're preparingfor a marathon this year, right November

(01:33):
November three, I was asked torun by a nonprofit organization called Marathon Kids
that helps kids stay active and useuse movement and sport as a way to
you know, help their lives.I love the organization, and I was
asked to run a marathon. Andso the executive director CEO of the organization

(01:55):
is like, hey, you wantto do this? It was like it's
football season. Just so happened.The race falls on November third, which
is our off week. So we'llcome right off Vandy and I'll slip right
up to New York, run twentysix point two miles in a row,
and then wobble back to Texas.I guess, so, what's your marathon

(02:20):
experience? Zero? Oh? Okay, yeah, so I ran a half
marathon. I ran the Austin Halfa couple of years ago. Yeah,
yeah, yeah, that's the onethat takes you through downtown correct fun time,
but this is that times two,and you said you had to go
to New York for it. Yeah, so I'm going to New York.

(02:40):
It's supposed to be I mean,the New York Marathon is supposed to be
one of the most iconic sporting eventsin the world. But bro training in
a hundred degree he yeah, takeus through your training regimen for that,
because you're someone that looks like youkeep up in pretty good shape. But
I mean for a marathon, awhole different level. So I mean,

(03:02):
right now, I'm just kind ofI got three runs a week, somewhere
between two to five miles per run. I got a Tuesday and Thursday run
those are shorter runs, and thensome are being five to ten miles on
a Saturday or Sunday. Just holdingthat mid July like that's when I really
really start the working out, runningclubs and training and you know, eating

(03:27):
and the whole bit. So Igo to my two days. So there's
kind of like a running joke.And Andrew, I'm sure you've seen it
on Twitter, where you know,twenty six, twenty seven, either your
friends are buying a house, havinga kid, going to Europe or training
for a half marathon. Yeah,I gotta start training for that. Yeah,
I'm right there with you. Nothaving it, not buying a house,
not having a kid, cannot affordto go to Europe. But I

(03:49):
guess it's going to be joining therun club. So maybe we can figure
out what run club what is goingto be in and we'll do it.
It would be fun, little teamrun club. I'll have it. Y'all
out there vomited and trying to getout of there. You can't huber out
of this workout. Bro talking withWill Matthews and let's talk some Texas football.
I know we're all excited for thisupcoming season, the first year in

(04:10):
the SEC, and Will, whatare you paying attention to the most as
Texas makes his transition from the Bigtwelve to the best college football conference.
Well, really, what I amkeeping the pulse on is really the attitude
of the players. You can tellhow a player will play by the way

(04:31):
that they interact with you, abouthow they're talking about where they're going,
how they're talking about the SEC.And then you know how they're talking about
them as a crew and as afootball family. And the guys have really
really started to become succinct in whatthey're saying, they're buying into the culture.

(04:53):
The transfer port of the nil's poppinglike there is f ones around,
let's go like it's real out here. Austin is like in a matter of
two years just kind of gone upa whole another peg. And so I

(05:14):
think I'm hoping that Austin becomes anothercollege, a college sporting mecca, and
I can kind of feel like it'smoving that way. I kind of felt
like it was already in that,like trending in that direction. The only
thing that it's fighting against Austin becomingthat mecca that like we all want it
to be, I think is thetransplants. Because you have so many people
who didn't go to University of Texasor aren't from Texas moving to the city

(05:35):
of Austin. It's getting those peopleingratiated into the Burnt Orange, getting them
into that mafia. Yeah, Imean, I think you're so right,
and I think it's going to beeasier than we think to get people pulled
in I think once and that's Imean, even with Sark, like he
wanted to bring the guys on theirrecruiting visit to Austin during the weekend when

(05:58):
it's popping, and I think thinkthat, I think that come this fall,
come late August, early September,when everything's just start swinging, like
people are going to be jumping onthis bandwagon, like there's a lot of
room and a lot of seats onthis bandwagon. Well, you raised an
excellent point too, because the minutepeople are a winning program reads people wanting
to join that band. For sure. People want to be around winning,

(06:23):
They want to associate themselves, theywant to associate their brands with it,
they want to associate themselves. Theyjust they just want to be around to
see what happens. I mean,I remember in early two thousands when we
started winning and winning Rose Bowls andgetting there, Like I turned around and
you would see like people like BarackObama walking around the halls and I'm not

(06:44):
and I'm not kidding, like GeorgeGeorge George dubb is hanging around and I
mean not just not just political figuresand Matthew McConaughey and of course he's around
now. But like when you startto win, that's what it brings out.
The the big deal. Now,your first year at Texas was two
thousand, right, Yeah, soninety three that season, and then the

(07:04):
next four years you were at Texas, you won ten wins each year,
and then of course Texas wins theRolls Ball in Michigan in your senior year
and then the US against the USseen the championship the following year and five
after you had graduated. Do youthink Sark in Texas at entering a position
a period of time when they're goingto get back to winning ten games each

(07:25):
year because Texas has not done thatin consecutive season since hey, the late
two thousands. Yeah. I meanI was thinking about this yesterday. I
was just driving around and just thinkabout when coach mac Brown came here.
He came and Ricky Ricky was here. So what a coach do is he
just added fuel to that fire?Right, and then a couple of years

(07:46):
later he's walking with a heisman.Well, when Sark gets here, who's
here Bijon? And Bijon doesn't winthe Heisman. But if you were to
compare the Eras, like, Bijonis probably the most effective running back that
I've seen in Ricky. I don'twant to say since since rick Jamal Charles

(08:09):
for that team was so influential inthat in that right there with Colt and
then my one of my close friends, Cedric, the late Cedric Benson,
what he was for our team didn'tget the Heisman accolades, but as you
can see that trend, I mean, and as coach Road kind of came
in with Bijon Bijeon Gohs picked goingto the Atlanta and now you see all

(08:35):
these other players starting to come in, and that's kind of it feels a
lot like it felt two thousand whenI got here. The ninety nine class
was Chris Sim's uh Corey Redding thatwas number one recruiting class, and then
that next year our class came inand we were number one or number two
recruiting class. And you can justsee started kind of stacking those recruiting classes

(08:58):
and beginning to use what he haslike Bjon and then bring in his people,
and then you start to see likejust this incredible, a meteoric rise
to the top where all of asudden you got Ohio State, Georgia and
then Man Texas is in that conversationand legitimately not us being fans and trying
to stick them in there, butlike they can't they can ball, and

(09:22):
I think two three years we couldbe looking, you know, say it
from the top of the Don TopRight Championship. The point about Beijean is
very interesting because obviously Texas fans knewhe was good that that first year he
was a Texas under Tom Herman,but was not played a lot. He

(09:43):
had that you know that, reallythat scary neck injury against TCU. I
think Tom Herman just really wanted tobe careful about using him. Sark comes
in and he rushes for eleven hundredyards his his first season under Sark,
and then of course fifteen hundred yardsalmost I think he got was over almost
two two thousand scrimmage yards. Ithink for the season top ten draft pick.
A running back going top ten basicallyunheard of. Now Falcons go ahead

(10:07):
and roll the dice on him.So it's similar. I mean, obviously
Texas fans knew Ricky was good underMacafitch, but then he went to a
different level under Mac Brown. Ofcourse wins the Heisman. Yeah, I
mean, and you could just seethose interesting correlations. Those are those little
data points that guys like us arelooking for, like how can we well,
two early two thousands was the lasttime we were there. Now that

(10:28):
is the closest time that we canjust you know, line aside into how
it usually happens. And now you'relooking at it again and there's just so
many data points that are just soin line. And I think more than
anything, it's fun. Sorry,talked about after the spring game just I
walked up to him and halftime Idid an interview and I asked him why

(10:50):
is this so fun? And hejust he's just so excited. He's like,
Will, that's pretty fun. Youknow. He's like he's having a
good time and the rest of theguys are having a good time. And
you know, when people are havingfun and they're adding passion and you know,
and all the other stuff around itin the camaraderie and leading this burn
orange, like special things start tohappen. So you know, I I

(11:11):
am. I was like, andto be honest, like people kind of
got on me last year, butI said we were nine to three teen
because I felt the ball bounces ina couple other ways like you are,
and but the team they decided theyweren't going to be that and so I'm
excited to be all in this season. Earlier, this is in the show

(11:31):
we talked about the games we're mostexcited for this season in conference play,
I said, Texas, A andM. But for you now, including
the Michigan game, what game areyou most excited for in twenty twenty four
in the SEC? Well, Ithink is a couple of ways answer this,
Like as a Texas fan, likewe don't have to go to ams

(11:52):
anymore, right, I'm not goingto Lawrence, I'm not going to Manhattan,
not going to love it. I'mnot going to love it in Starksville.
I'm not going to Baylor, youknow, like being able to be
I talked to a lot of fans, a lot of old players, and
like be able to be on theroad in the SEC and kind of be
in the South and all these teamsthat have had some iconic games in the

(12:16):
past, Alabama of the arkansass andand all of that. But you can't
get over the A and M game. Bro I mean, like so weirdly
enough, two thousand, I wasnot recruited by Texas the bonfire the bonfire
fell, ye, and I wasbeing recruited by A and M. That

(12:37):
same week. My mom went tothe University of Texas with a video tape.
I'm in high school, senior year. I'm lightly recruited. I'm recruited
by you know, I hadn't talkedto Texas by A and M, Texas
Tech, Baylor kind of like thoseschools. My mom takes a VCR video
tape and walks into the fieldhouse,which you can't even get in the field
house right now, walks into thefieldhouse and the first person she sees,

(12:58):
she goes, you need to watchthis. This is my son and he's
supposed to go to this school.Wow. It was Greg Davis. Oh
wow. He says, well,ma'am, you know, uh, we
didn't. We don't usually do this. But he's like, no, he's
supposed to go here. So hegoes, yes, ma'am, we'll we'll

(13:18):
look. He looks at it,and he goes to Bruce Chambers, who's
a running back coach, and goes, have you heard of this kid?
And he's like, no, Idon't know who this kid is. So
Bruce Chambers goes to the strength andconditioning coach mad Dog Madden. Of course,
well, the week that week beforethe bonfire fell, I'm at A
and M. And we're doing therecruiting thing and n beats Texas and at

(13:43):
the end of the game, Jeffmad Dog Madden's walking by. My mom
goes, go see how to thatman? Like, mom, you know,
I'm trying to be all cool andyeah, sixteen seventeen and all,
and you're on the sideline here.This is official visit for you, This
official visit for me. And thenI saw I walk over to and I
go, how you doing? Uh, Coach Madden, I'm Will Matthews from
Westwood Round Rock and uh, I'msorry you guys lost, but I love

(14:07):
Texas and uh, you know,just goo, I walk away. Well,
Bruce Chambers goes to Madden, Jeffmad Dog Madden right and goes,
have you met this kid? Whois this guy? Joco's mad Dog goes,
yeah, good kid. I methim at Texas A and m he
opened the door for his mom.They gave me a scholarship that weekend off

(14:30):
of that. Man. Those arethe old school recruiting stories like come on,
like, I'm all lit, let'sgo man. That's that's an awesome
story. Well, thanks so muchfor stopping bye. We appreciate looking forward
to your coverage this season for Texasfootball on the sidelines with Craig Way and
Roger Wallas. Under one hundred daysuntil kickoff, man bro bro and in

(14:54):
three digits, Yeah, all thetime, and that marathon too will be
coming up closely as well. Well, we appreciate it. Thank you.
All right, we'll continue today's showhere on Amsports Radio thirteen hundred The Zone