Cornell quarterback Jeff Mathews is one of the hundreds of college football players hoping to be picked in this week’s NFL Draft. In the third of a series, The Post follows him as he goes through the draft process.
Jeff Mathews wishes he could stay away from the TV when the NFL Draft is on later this week.
The Cornell quarterback wants to hear his name called, but also knows he could be waiting a while and letting his frustration grow as he does.
“I don’t want to [watch],” Mathews said. “I think that becomes a lot of frustration of, ‘He got drafted and I didn’t.’ ”
Mathews will be in Ithaca watching with his father, Jeff Sr., and some teammates and coaches. Mathews is not one of the 30 players invited to Radio City Music Hall to get TV time. He is part of the majority of players hoping to get drafted, waiting with some family and friends to see if his name gets called.
The 6-foot-4 Mathews is expected to go anywhere from the fifth round to undrafted. All Mathews can do is wait to see where his future will be.
“It’s crazy,” Mathews said. “I’m very excited to go forward and see where I’m going to be for the next little while. I’m excited for the opportunity and just ready to see what happens. There’s been so much talk back and forth. I want to know where I’m going basically.”If they like me, hopefully they take me and hopefully I’ll be a good fit for them and help them win a bunch of games.
- Jeff Mathews
Like all of the players in the draft Mathews knows which teams showed the most interest in him and wonders if one of them ultimately will take him. The Jaguars sent their quarterbacks coach to his pro day in March and the Cardinals privately worked him out a few days later.
“There are a lot of teams I’ve talked to throughout the process,” Mathews said. “You kind of sit there evaluating every conversation you have with them and wonder what they thought of you. I try not to think about it. If they like me, hopefully they take me and hopefully I’ll be a good fit for them and help them win a bunch of games.”
Mathews has worked with former NFL quarterback Chris Simms in New Jersey throughout the draft process. Simms, who spent eight seasons in the NFL as a player and one year as a coaching assistant with the Patriots, believes Mathews will be picked on Saturday when rounds 4-7 are held.
“I really will be shocked if he doesn’t get drafted somewhere on the third day,” Simms said. “They’ll be getting a big, strong-armed, pocket-passing quarterback. I don’t think there’s a more valuable commodity in the NFL despite the love affair with athletic quarterbacks. At the end of the day, it’s about being in the pocket and making plays in the pocket and throwing the ball down the field.”
Simms said several NFL teams have called him to ask about Mathews.
Mathews hopes to get drafted but has also prepared for the chance he will go undrafted and then sign with a team as a free agent Saturday night.
“I think you have to prepare for every step along the way,” Mathews said. “That’s definitely one of the things [my agents Alan Herman and Jared Fox] and I have prepared for. We talk about it. I think we all hope I get drafted, but if I don’t you have to prepare for that process. That’s just finding the best situation for yourself where a team wants you and you want to be there.”