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The middle man.

Article Excerpt
Byline: GRILLED DUCK By Adam Jude The Register-Guard

Casey Matthews acknowledged some general progress on his part, but he couldn't pinpoint precisely why he has suddenly emerged as the answer in the middle of Oregon's linebacker corps.

Mike Bellotti was pretty specific in his praise of Matthews.

"He's a great football player because he has a sort of a feel and a knack for the game," the Oregon coach said this week. "He's physically tough. He has continued to improve athletically, in terms of picking up a step of quickness and working on his speed to be able to go sideline to sideline and cover the deep middle if necessary. Those improvements have allowed us to improve his playing time."

After serving as senior John Bacon's backup for the past two seasons, Matthews has stepped into the starting role in the last two games, both Oregon victories.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound sophomore from Agoura Hills, Calif., was surprised to play the majority of the game in the Ducks' 54-20 victory at Arizona State last week, finishing with three tackles.

"The whole mentality thing is different because you're a starter," he said. "You feel like more pressure's on you to do well."

Part of that "knack" that Bellotti described certainly has something to do with Matthews' football upbringing. His father is Clay Matthews Jr., who was an All-American linebacker at USC before playing 19 seasons in the NFL, mostly with the Cleveland...

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