Sports

After backing out of Rutgers, NJ lineman has shot at BCS title

Josue Matias could be in Piscataway, not Pasadena.

As a prized offensive line prospect at Union City (N.J.) High School, Matias appeared to be following the tradition of the city’s most decorated players by staying in state and committing to then-Rutgers coach Greg Schiano.

But on the Monday morning after coming back from campus, an uneasy Matias walked into the office of his high school coach, Wilbur Valdez.

“He was pretty much about to cry,” Valdez said. “I said, ‘Josue, what’s wrong?’ He said, ‘Coach, I don’t want to go to Rutgers.’ ”

Matias told his coach he had felt pressured at Rutgers to make a commitment during his official visit and when he did so, regretted it almost immediately, Valdez said.

Matias had considered going to North Carolina, and had visited Wisconsin, Miami and other big-time programs, but Mark Zuckerberg helped him get to Tallahassee.

Valdez — who played for the Hurricanes — had sent a tape of Matias to Florida State, but had never heard back from his former rival. Unaware of the highlight footage, Chris Harvey — the assistant strength coach at Florida State and Valdez’s former teammate — posted on Valdez’s Facebook wall, “You ever gonna send me anybody?” Valdez said, “I sent you film on the No. 13 lineman in the country and you guys never said anything.” Harvey said, “You did?”

Harvey found the tape and quickly showed the rest of the coaching staff, who boarded a plane and immediately offered a scholarship to Matias. Matias’ Spanish-speaking parents quickly bonded with then-Florida State offensive coordinator James Coley, who also speaks Spanish fluently.

Still, before officially decommitting from Rutgers, Matias asked Valdez one question: “Could I play there?”

He’ll never question whether he belongs again.

A junior and now the Seminoles’ starting left guard, Matias has been an integral part of Florida State’s undefeated run to Monday night’s BCS National Championship game in Pasadena, Calif. protecting Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston and the team’s high-powered offense.

Now he prepares for the game that helped him make his decision.

“I just wanted the chance to get out of New Jersey and explore, I just wanted to see what else was out there,” Matias told The Post by phone last week. “The main thing was I knew I could come here and have a chance to win a national championship. It was a no-brainer.”

On a roster with 130 players, including 98 from Florida and 28 others from below the Mason-Dixon line, Matias made his name four miles from Manhattan and thousands of miles from where he was born — the Dominican Republic.

Matias and his family moved to the United States when he was 6, but he never envisioned a future in football until he got to high school, where his father works as a custodian and his mother works in the school system as a teacher’s aide.

As a senior, Matias was a 6-foot-6, 300-plus pound “teddy bear,” a target of good-natured ribbing from the coaching staff for being so darn nice. He was fast, powerful, modest and nothing like Valdez had ever seen.

“He was probably the first kid I ever coached that I said, ‘Wow. I don’t even think I saw dudes like this at Miami,’” Valdez said. “None of them ever looked or ran or were as athletic as Josue. We used to do agility drills at six in the morning and he used to look like a receiver going around the cones. He was freakish.”

But on the second play of the team’s first scrimmage, of what was sure to be a showcase senior year, Matias went down, tearing his patellar tendon in his knee, in what he described as the scariest moment of his life.

Matias missed the entire season and feared for the future. He feared he may never play again. He feared he would not be given the opportunity to play at any of the several schools which had already offered — but could still pull — scholarships.

“That was a major concern,” Matias said. “That was a very depressing time. I thought that was my last football snap. I thought that was the last time I was ever going to play football. I really didn’t know if I’d ever play again. And then Florida State called and said that they still wanted me. That was just amazing.”

Matias slowly grew from a nervous freshman who thought the defensive line was “going to swallow” him when he first played to one of the country’s best interior linemen.

Monday could mark his final collegiate game. He could enter the NFL Draft, where he would likely be selected between the fourth and sixth rounds. If he returns for his senior season, Matias would go no lower than the third round, according to DJ Boyer, a senior NFL draft analyst for DraftSite.com, which ranks him as the fourth-best guard in the 2015 class.

“Matias has the size to play offensive tackle, but has excelled at the guard position in part due to his nimble feet,” Boyer wrote in an email. “Agility and hand placement seem to be the key ingredients for Matias’ success. He is rarely called for infractions like holding due to solid mechanics. Has the quickness and agility to block downfield on screens and sweeps.”

The big decision will come after the biggest game of his life, the game that led him to Florida State — a game being played on his 21st birthday.

“I’m so excited. It’s like a dream come true,” said Matias. “You always look at these games when you’re younger and now it’s actually happening. It’s crazy.”

There could be much to celebrate.