Where Are They Now: Steve Matthews

Several months after Steve Matthews had finished his brief, but prolific, career as a record-setting quarterback at the University of Memphis, he found himself in preseason training camp with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.

As the seventh-round draft pick worked with the veteran receivers in the summer of 1994, a prevailing thought kept crossing his mind with each toss.

"I remember thinking all my receivers at Memphis were better than these guys," said Matthews.

Who could blame him for thinking such thoughts? Matthews had spent two seasons with the Tigers zipping left-handed spirals to future Pro Football Hall of Famer Isaac Bruce, veteran NFL receiver Russell Copeland and speedy Mac Cody, who also played six seasons professionally, including the 1999 and 2000 campaigns with the Arizona Cardinals.

Matthews also had a brief run in the NFL, spending time with the Kansas City Chiefs (1994-96), Jacksonville Jaguars (1997) and Tennessee Titans (1998). His best moment in the NFL came with the Jaguars in 1997 when he got one of his two career starts and completed 23 of 35 passes in a victory over the New York Giants.

Living in Knoxville today, Matthews, who recently turned 50, understands he was part of a special group at Memphis. By virtue of playing with talented receivers like Bruce, Copeland and Cody, Matthews remains ranked among the school's top 10 passers, despite college football's – and the UofM's – major emphasis on the passing game the past two decades.

He was the school's No. 3 all-time passer when he completed his career and only five quarterbacks – Danny Wimprine, Riley Ferguson, Paxton Lynch, Martin Hankins and Brady White – own more 200-yard passing games than Matthews.

If Matthews' teams in the early 1990s had been playing in the current bowl-proliferated era, the Tigers would have gone to the postseason in each of the two years he played at Memphis. The Tigers had winning records (six wins in both 1992 and 1993), but they did not earn bowl invitations.

"You know I transferred from Tennessee where there were a ton of good receivers," Matthews said. "I couldn't tell the difference (from the Vols' talent at receiver) with Copeland, Bruce and Cody at Memphis. All those guys would have started at Tennessee, or at least been in the mix.

"Isaac was kind of a late-bloomer at Memphis. Russell was kind of the guy (in 1992). He knew the offense. Isaac and I were the newcomers. But if you would have told me Isaac would have one day been in the Hall of Fame when we first played in college, I don't know if I would have believed you. But he was an extremely hard worker and he loved the game of football. And he was a strong competitor."

Matthews, now a coach, visited the Billy J. Murphy Athletic Complex in 2019 and was thoroughly impressed by the indoor practice facility, which was under construction. Seeing the complex and the outdoor practice fields brought back memories.

"It looks a lot different (with multiple renovations since he left), but, at the same time, it brought back a lot of memories," Matthews said. "That got me back into talking to some of my former teammates.

"Seeing the progress (the program) has made simply made me proud."

Matthews said he will set aside time to attend Bruce's Hall of Fame enshrinement next summer. Although Bruce is a member of the Class of 2020, the pandemic forced the ceremonies to be postponed until 2021.

"I'll definitely be there," Matthews said. "I'll find a way. Nothing's going to keep me from being there."

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