Josue Matias had no idea that he will become a part of history this week, when the National Football League Draft is taking place in Chicago.
Matias will be in his Union City home with his family, doing what they always do.
“We’ll probably have some sort of a barbecue,” Matias said.
But Matias, the Union City High School graduate who went on to have a brilliant career as an offensive tackle/guard at Florida State, culminating in winning the National Championship in 2014, will certainly hear his name selected sometime during in the NFL Draft.
It probably won’t come Thursday night, when the first round of the draft takes place. It could happen Friday night, when Rounds 2 and 3 are held. Without question, it would then happen Saturday afternoon, when Rounds 4 through 7 are sorted out.
Make no bones about it. The 6-foot-5, 310-pound Matias will be selected at some portion of the NFL Draft, which will make him the first Union City product to be taken in the NFL Draft since Frank Winters was taken by the Cleveland Browns in the 10th round of the 1987 Draft out of Western Illinois.
Winters went on to have a Pro Bowl career with the Green Bay Packers, winning a Super Bowl there and earning a place in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
Matias has never met Winters, but knows about him.
“I have heard all about him,” said Matias, who took a break from his workout regimen at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for a phone interview. “This is the first time I’m realizing that I’m the first since him. I always want to represent my home town of Union City with pride. It’s pretty amazing that it’s been that long.”
It’s been 28 years since a Union City product heard his name selected on NFL Draft day _ or days, in the this instance.
Matias has been projected to be selected anywhere between the second and fourth rounds, so he will more than likely go Friday or Saturday.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll get drafted,” Matias laughed.
It’s been a wild ride for Matias, who came to Union City with his family at age six from his native Dominican Republic, not even knowing what the sport of football was all about.
“To me, back then, the only sport I knew was baseball,” Matias said. “I loved baseball, but I became Americanized in a hurry and I played football.”
Matias was asked how he felt prior to the NFL Draft.
“I’m pretty fired up,” Matias said. “It’s a dream that’s about to come true.”
Matias was asked if he was worried about where he would get selected and by what team.
“I’m just going to let it all play out,” Matias said. “It is what it is. I can’t get caught up in all of that.”
Matias was speaking of the draft projections, which had him going anywhere between the second and fourth rounds.
“Those guys are not coaches,” Matias said. “They’re just going off their heads. They really don’t know. It’s just a projection. It’s not fact.”
Matias also has no idea what teams are interested in his services.
“It’s hard to tell,” Matias said. “It’s not like college recruiting, where you hear from the coach over and over. The NFL teams call and just ask how I’m doing. There’s nothing specific.”
Matias said that he had been working out in Bradenton with about 20 other prospective NFL Draft selections, like Jon Feliciano of the University of Miami, Jamil Douglas of Arizona State and Patrick Miller of Auburn.
“It’s good that we’ve been here together competing,” Matias said. “It’s definitely getting me ready.”
Matias said that he planned to stop back at Florida State for a bit, then head back to Union City for his big day.
“I’ll be home with my phone on,” Matias said. “I’ll be watching on television, but I’m really not worried about it.”
Matias said that he was first a Giants fan growing up, then switched to the Jets, but those allegiances are long gone now – that is, unless either team ends up taking him.
“Now, it’s a business,” Matias said. “Whoever takes me, takes me. I don’t have a preference where to go.”
Matias said that he was glad to be headed home for the draft to be with family and friends.
“It’s been a while, since January, I think,” Matias said. “So it’s a good feeling to be home. It’s always important to be around family and friends.”
Matias said that he is still working towards his degree in social science from Florida State. He’s about 12 credits shy, so he plans on finishing up during the next football offseason.
“I plan on being back there to finish up,” Matias said.
For now, it’s all about a dream about to come true and a slice of history being made in the process.
“It’s really so incredible,” Matias said. “When I was a little kid, I never could have dreamed a day like this could happen. No question, there’s a sense of pride being from Union City and being the first in a long time. I know that I can feel like a role model, that kids can look to me as being someone who beat the odds.”
Matias suffered a serious knee injury during his senior year at Union City. A lot of people thought that he might not even recover enough to play college football. He eventually de-committed from his initial verbal commitment to Rutgers and headed to Florida State. We all know how that move worked out now.
“There were people who said that I couldn’t make it in college,” Matias said. “But I was always a fighter. I knew I could do it.”
Now, history awaits. A kid from Union City will hear his name selected in this week’s NFL Draft. We can all root along with him, waiting to hear Josue Matias’ name. Maybe even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell might mispronounce his name. That might make it even more memorable.
But nothing will detract from the fact that a local kid is about to make the quantum leap into the league where you play on Sunday for pay. Josue Matias is about to make the big time, even bigger than winning a national championship. It’s almost like hitting the lottery. After all, it’s taken 28 years for a Union City kid to live that dream.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.
You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com.