Matthew Huhn
	Height	6-7
	Weight	297
	40-yard Dash	5.06
	Bench Press	255
	Squat	450
	Vertical Leap	27 inches

ESPN: ***
247sports: ***
rivals: ***
scout: ***
scout: No. 70 offensive tackle in country
rivals: No. 76 offensive tackle in country
247sports: No. 78 offensive tackle in country
ESPN: No. 79 offensive tackle in country
scout: No. 9 offensive tackle in Texas
scout: No. 9 offensive tackle in Midland Region
rivals: No. 98 player in Texas
247sports: No. 104 player in Texas
ESPN: No. 133 player in Texas
ESPN: No. 171 player in Midlands Region

Last Year Statistics

0 sacks allowed

Strengths as a Player

It’s easy to assume that a lineman with Matthew Huhn’s size can simply physically overwhelm defenders, and in many cases, that’s true. But Huhn is an athlete who also happens to be big. The former wide receiver/tight end moves his feet well, and there is a video clip out there somewhere that shows him jumping from a standing position and landing on a box 42 inches high. He is far from a finished product — he just started playing on the offensive line in 10th grade, when he was under 200 pounds — but that is part of the reason so many coaches think his ceiling is so high. He admits that he needs to get stronger, but with his long arms and mobile feet, he already is an effective pass blocker, having gone his entire senior season without surrendering a single sack.

Interviews

John Jay head coach Gary Gutierrez on Matthew Huhn:

Matthew is a late bloomer. He came here as a wide receiver/tight end as a freshman, and I think he was about 6 feet, 170 pounds. But you know he was going to be big. He was like a Great Dane puppy, with knees and elbows all over the place. He has really long limbs, and you knew that if he grew into that frame, he’d be a big guy.

When we first talked to him about moving to the offensive line, he hated the idea. At the end of that (freshman) season, he was ready to not play football anymore and just focus on his academics. He’s a really smart kid, and that’s important.

But we talked to him and his family, and we laid out a plan. He grew taller, but wasn’t much heavier, and we had him in there, playing tackle. We sat down with his parents and talked about what we thought he could become, but if he was going to do that, he had to really commit, and that’s when he got on that 5,000 calorie (per day) diet. He came back at about 250, and then got up to 6-7 and about 280 or so this year.

Remember, this is only his third year playing offensive line. His upside is huge, and he has an NFL body. I think Coach Fry and Coach Morris are going to do a great job looking at his future and helping him develop. They’ll have to work with him on some things, but I think he has a chance to be their bellcow in a couple of years. In a way, guys his size sometimes struggle in high school because they’re blocking guys who are so much smaller — it’s hard to get their hands on them. I think when Matthew starts seeing guys closer to his size, he’ll really thrive.

I just know this: he will be a guy they develop, and then he’ll be playing on Sundays in four years.

That (developing a mean streak) is something he knew he needed, but moving to offensive line is a real change in the way you do things. Putting your hand down in the dirt is way different than standing up and looking pretty. He has the right attitude about being a lineman now, and he’s only going to get better.

He’s incredibly athletic. I’ve seen him hang-clean 350 pounds, he can jump up on a 42-inch box. He has really good him flexibility, and his legs and arms are really long. He’s built kind of like a grasshopper: once they extend, they’re super-long, but then they jump long. That’s the way Matthew is. With those long limbs, he’s pretty explosive.

Matthew Huhn on why he chose SMU:

It was about finding the right fit. After I decommitted from Houston, part of the decision came down to who had (scholarship) spots open. I didn’t want to choose a school just based on the number of wins it had last year — I didn’t see the point of that.

The biggest thing was the relationships, and I really liked Coach (Dustin) Fry and Coach (Chad) Morris. After I decommitted from Houston, they came to see me and they said I have a spot at SMU, reserved for me, no pressure.

I went on an official visit a week or two before Christmas with my dad. Nobody knew about it — it was just us, and we had a great time. We got to know the coaches and see the campus, and I just felt like it was the right place for me.

I think it’s going to be enjoyable (playing for Fry). He’s a really fun guy to be around. He’s not going to lie to your face, and he’s not going to yell and scream. That might seem like a small thing, but when you sit back and look at it, football is supposed to be fun, right? Obviously, for the coaches it’s a business, too, and it’s (Fry’s) job to develop better players and better men, and I think he does that.

(Recruiting visit host) Bryce (Wilds) was really the right host for me, because he was once committed to Houston, too, and switched to go to SMU, and he just told me what he was thinking when he committed to Houston, and what he was thinking when he switched. It really helped, because it was very similar to my situation.

I came out of eighth grade as a tight end, and going into my freshman year, I was contemplating whether or not I should play football. My dad said he thought I should try it for a couple of years. If nothing else, I would have fun and make friends. So I went to camp my freshman year, and one week in … I had my heart broken when they moved me to the offensive line. By my sophomore year, I was about 6-4, and still wasn’t 200 pounds — maybe 190 — and there were times I was getting manhandled. It helped that our quarterback was fast and could escape, but there were times I was a little overwhelmed.

At the end of the year, my coaches and my parents and I sat down, and talked about my potential … but obviously, I had to get a lot bigger. At the end of my sophomore (school) year, I was about 220, and that summer, I was on a 5,000 calories-per-day diet. When I came back for my junior year, I was about 250, and that’s when my coaches pulled me aside and said “we think you have the potential to play” in college. By the end of my junior year, me and my dad said that if we got 10 offers, that would be great. But then it kind of blew up and offers came in.

I’ve got to get stronger — I know that. I don’t know if I’ll play next year or not, but I’m going to work hard to get ready, in case I get that chance. I’m going to give my best, and if my best is not good enough to start, I want to give my best to get stronger and faster and learn the offense and the blocking techniques Coach Fry teaches. (The coaches) said they want me to take the approach that I’m coming in to start, and I’d love to start, but if I don’t and they choose to redshirt me, I’m going to give my best to being a great scout team player. I’ll be happy either way.