Fresno State football coach Pat Hill and Ryan Mathews have discussed the junior running back entering the NFL draft next spring, and, yes, there's a possibility that the nation's leading rusher could decide to make the jump.
"If he's in position to make good money and have an opportunity to be drafted in the top 30-40 picks, I think it's in his best interest to look at that option," Hill said Monday.
Mathews, a junior, has rushed for 1,131 yards and nine touchdowns this season as the Bulldogs' main offensive threat. While he said it would be fun to stay another year at Fresno State, Mathews added he won't make a decision until after the season.
"We talked about it, and [Hill] is going to get evaluations on me and if I'm going to go in the top couple rounds, he's going to tell me to go because it's good money," Mathews said. "But if not, I'll just play here another year and have fun."
Added Mathews: "All I have to do is work hard for Coach Hill and put in my max effort, and I know he'll put in his max effort when it's time."
Fresno State football coach Pat Hill and Ryan Mathews, middle, have discussed the junior running back entering the NFL draft next spring.
Hill said he won't have pro evaluations on Mathews until after the New Year because that's when NFL general managers are wrapping up their evaluations.
"I'll have good insight," Hill said. "There's 10 to 12 [general managers] I can call at any time because I know them real well. ...
"They will give you an answer, but they're not going to have an answer until the season's over. ... That's when we can really discuss this."
Mathews already has accomplished one of his dreams -- he's playing Division I football on a full scholarship. But another of his dreams has always been to play in the NFL.
"I'm only going to accomplish that by staying healthy and putting up good numbers and making everybody go crazy here," he said.
His health is the most important, he said. Mathews failed to stay healthy his freshman season and played in seven of 13 games last season because of injury.
"My main focus is to stay healthy," Mathews said. "I'm still [labeled] as an injury-prone running back, and running backs like that don't get picked up."
And while he says NFL dollars are motivation for him to do well, his biggest motivators are his detractors.
"People say that I'm injury prone and that I'm good, but not good enough," Mathews said. "I just feed off that. I love to prove people wrong. I've done it before. It's a big step for me to stay healthy. That's a big motivator. ... All those people are saying 'No,' but I'm saying 'Yes.' "
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