Byron Matos' journey through sports wasn't traditional, but that's underplayed.
Matos is not only an international student, but also a two-sport athlete. He played college basketball at USF before switching to football.
Now that he's finished training with the NFL's International Player Program (IPP), he may be ready for the next step: playing professional football.
Matos, 23, is from the Dominican Republic. He played baseball, the most popular sport in the country, as a child until he immigrated to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue basketball.
Related: Byron Matos: A strong talent with a skilled work ethic.
He played one season of college basketball at New Mexico State before transferring to USF, where he appeared in 28 games as a forward in the 2021-2022 season.
Then he decided to try soccer.
In the spring of 2022, he put on a helmet and pads for the first time in his life and joined the USF football team. Even though he practiced as a defensive and offensive lineman, he never saw game action.
Matos entered Although he entered the transfer portal in 2023 and was not transferred to another program, his hopes for professional football did not come true.
Related: Former USF football player performs in front of NFL scouts during pro day
After being selected by participate Since starting the International Player Program in January, Matos has been training at IMG Academy in hopes of expanding and honing his skill set for NFL scouts.
The IPP is a program that gives international athletes the opportunity to compete in the NFL and is designed to increase the representation of foreign-born athletes in the professional ranks.
The Class of 2024 included 16 players from around the world, including Matos. The players were then able to showcase their talents at USF's Pro Day on March 21st.
“There are people coming from all over the place [world] These are people who have never played soccer before,” he said of the IPP. “I've had 10 weeks to prepare for this day. It's been pretty intense.”
It's easy to see why Matos is considered a sleeper NFL Draft prospect.
He boasts a mountain-sized physique, standing at 6 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 290 pounds.
Matos, who is training as an offensive lineman, also ran a 4.88-second 40-yard dash during the game. pro day At U.S.F. If he was playing there, nfl combinethat would have been the fastest time within his position group.
Related: USF's NFL draft drought could end this year
IPP Consultant Scott Pioli highly praised A March 18th NFL article about Matos' football intangibles.
“Matos is able to pick up on the movements of the rest of the offensive line faster than anyone else and has made remarkable progress,” Coach Pioli said. “He's smooth, has good foot-hand coordination and has rare punching explosiveness.”
Pioli also said he “wouldn't be surprised” if Matos' name was called on the third day of the draft (fourth-round to seventh-round picks).
Matos has already attracted the attention of professional scouts.according to post On his X account, he has worked out with the Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
International prospects in the NFL were once a novelty, but now they're gaining traction.
18 former IPP athletes the current Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata is also on the professional roster.
Mailata – a former rugby player from Australia – was a raw prospect who attracted a lot of attention after his pro day. He was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round in 2018.
Now he is one of them received the highest salary NFL offensive lineman.
It may be a similar story for Matos.
“I’ve been working hard to get to the next level,” he said. “There's a lot of work to do. We're not a university anymore.”
The 2024 NFL Draft will be held April 25-27 and will be broadcast on ESPN and ABC.
