South Carolina Gamecocks defensive end Cliff Matthews was selected in the 7th round of the NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. Matthews will join another Gamecock at defensive end, John Abraham, who also plays for the “dirty birds.”
He played weakside linebacker as a freshman, making nine starts and playing in 12 games. He started all 13 games as a sophomore at defensive end. He started 11 of 13 games as a junior and started all 14 games last season. He finished his career with 15.5 sacks.
Matthews says his first order of business is to graduate from the University of South Carolina.
The 6’4″ 257 pounder was the 230th player chosen in the 2011 NFL Draft. He was one of only two Gamecocks taken in this year’s draft joining Chris Culliver who was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in round three.
Here is a highlight video of him –
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YtsZEGu8Xfk?version=3
