Virginia huddled around its starting center, Jackson Matteo, looking for words of encouragement. The Cavaliers found themselves in a 17-0 hole against Boise State Sept. 25 and 7:53 remained in the first quarter.

“(Matteo) was the first person to get the team together and say, ‘Hey, we got to be better right now, do it for the man next to you,’” UVA wide receiver Ryan Santoro said. “That’s a testament to the way he’s stepped up.”

Matteo has become a leader on the offensive line this season for Virginia (1-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) after an offseason transformation from the player he once was. After maturing and prioritizing his fitness, Matteo has left the recruited walk-on label he once carried far in the past and carved out a role as a regular starter for UVA.

“It means the world to me (to be contributing this season),” Matteo said. “I’ve always been happy to do whatever was asked of me, but it’s good to be taking on a role on the field with everything else.”

Out of high school, Matteo accepted a scholarship to play football at Temple from a host of other offers. But as signing day approached, he decommitted and took an opportunity to join Virginia as a recruited walk-on.

The center came out of spring practice in 2013 as a redshirt freshman listed as the No. 1 center on the depth chart. Then-offensive line coach Scott Wachenheim was so impressed with his play through that offseason that he was awarded a scholarship.

A lack of what Matteo termed “maturity” and a bevy of more experienced linemen, each of whom understood the offense, better plagued his chances to hold onto the starting spot. After playing tackle in high school, he needed time to adjust to playing center — the lineman position which mentally requires more than any other.

One start aside, Matteo found himself seeing mostly reps with the special teams unit in the 2013 season.

“I was focused on me,” Matteo said. “… I didn’t do the things I needed to do in order to play regularly.”

The 2014 season looked more promising, Matteo said, with a year of the Cavaliers offense under his belt. He started once at center and once at left tackle, through the team’s first five games.

But in the fourth quarter of the sixth game against Kent State, Matteo felt a pop in his foot on an otherwise normal play. He finished the game, but postgame x-rays showed he had broken the fifth metatarsal in his left foot.

“You never want to sit out and watch your guys go out there without you,” Matteo said. “… But it motivated me going into this season.”

The injury motivated Matteo to make drastic changes to jumpstart his offseason workouts and bolster his fitness. He didn’t have to look far for how to do it as his roommate and star wide receiver Canaan Severin had dropped 20 pounds the past summer.

The pair ate chicken, spinach and rice for dinner every night and cut out all fatty foods. Santoro, who also lives with Matteo, said that it led to the center shedding four percent of his body fat.

“Matteo dropped a tremendous amount of body fat,” said head coach Mike London. “He’s got a great mindset, so he takes this thing seriously and it’s paid off for him in his ability to perform.”

Matteo said that in order to play like a leader, he needed to act like one in the offseason and he would often help the captains lead offseason workouts.

Upon returning home some nights during the summer, Santoro would find an empty house upward of five hours after conditioning sessions had ended. Matteo, along with Severin and the fourth roommate, starting quarterback Matt Johns, would still be at the team’s facility watching film.

The newfound leadership has come with playing consistently, but started with the attitude accompanying the offseason work.

“He’s the kind of dude who doesn’t like to get beat,” Santoro said. “It’s obviously tough for him to be on the sideline not playing all that time, but he had plenty of time to think of how to get on the field.

“Jackson just went out and made it happen finally.”

Published on October 14, 2015 at 11:17 pm

Contact Liam: lpsull01@syr.edu