Cliff Matthews Scouting Report

Matthews had a bit of a disappointing season for South Carolina, although he still helped his team reach the SEC Championship. The defensive end was an All-SEC performer as a junior in 2009, recording 10 tackles for loss and seven sacks. Matthews had 8.5 tackles for loss this season and five sacks, to go along with six quarterback hurries and an impressive four forced fumbles. A captain, Matthews was well-respected as one of the hardest-working Gamecocks.

He also has plenty of natural talent as well. Matthews has good size at 6'4'' and 268 pounds and has been clocked as fast as 4.68 in the 40-yard dash. He is a solid tackler and is as fundamentally-sound as they come. Matthews has a minor shoulder injury history and he was absent from the recent East-West Shrine game. While he played defensive end at South Carolina, Matthews could move to outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme at the next level. Look for him to come off the board sometime around the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft--although he definitely has the potential to improve his stock at the combine.