Name: Malik Matthew
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 210 lbs.
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Bronx, N.Y.
High School: Cardinal Hayes
2020 stats: Most Northeast high school football teams didn’t have much of a season last year due to COVID concerns.
2021 projections: The Syracuse Orange have a significant number of experienced young linebackers right now, so there’s a chance that if they can afford to redshirt Matthew for this season, they will.
How’d he get here?: Malik garnered plenty of interest from Northeast schools, including offers from Boston College, Rutgers, Buffalo and Temple, plus other MAC offers. He opted for “New York’s College Team” (TM), however, and headed to SU.
What’d recruiting sites say?: Everyone said three stars, which was smart.
Twitter feed: @malikmatthew1
Tweets of wonder: Being a New York product, it makes sense that Matthew got the 50 Cent Get Rich or Die Tryin’ cover treatment during the early signing period.
What up, @MalikMatthew1. Welcome to the
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) December 16, 2020
Malik Matthew
Linebacker
Bronx, NY pic.twitter.com/gPhyyQTi9F
What movie would Dino recommend for him?: We’re opting for a pretty recent release. Malik, starring Fahadh Faasil, Nimisha Sajayan and Vinay Fortt came out on Amazon Prime Video last month. The film is an Indian political thriller that takes at least some very vague notes from the 2009 Beemapally police shooting, but overall retains its own unique plot around corruption.
Interesting nugget o’interest: Matthew was New York’s No. 1 linebacker during the 2021 recruiting cycle. While results may vary on previous players to hold that distinction, one includes Notre Dame’s Jamir Jones, who was the top linebacker back in 2016 and recently signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Let’s get a look at ya: You’re going to want some tape on Malik, of course. So we have that below.