Acey aims high in 2009

Beaverton Southridge offensive tackle Matthew Acey is ranked as the No. 29 player in the state of Oregon and his potential is attracting interest from college coaches. This summer, Acey worked on turning that potential into production.

“I’ve been doing nothing but football related activities,” Acey said. “The four or five weeks that were not scheduled for football or camps, I was at my coach’s physical training place. We were doing all kinds of crazy workouts. It’s really intense. We have NFL and college players on their hands and knees throwing up at times.”

The 6-4, 270-pound Acey will get his first opportunity to showcase his skills this week when Southridge opens their season.

“We’re having a pre-season game this Friday. I think it might count for playoff standings, but it doesn’t count for our wins/losses for the season,” said Acey, who noted he and his teammates are ready to get his senior season underway. “We’re ready to hit someone else.”

Acey and his family have been in contact with several college coaches this summer, including Doug Nussmeier of Washington and the staff at Oregon.

“The [Oregon] Ducks send something in the mail every week,” Acey said. “We’re getting a lot of contact from a bunch of D2’s over email. I’ve gotten a couple invitations that say we should come and see games. I’d like to make my way down to Humboldt State if I can get a plane ticket or a [Washington] Huskies game.”

In order to turn interest into scholarship offers, Acey will have to perform on the field this fall, but he also believes continued work off the field will raise his stock in the eyes of colleges.

“If we’re talking about D1’s, I think I need to get my bench and squat up and lower my forty time,” Acey said. “I’ve been playing pretty solidly. My technique is not as good as last year yet because they just moved me to right tackle from left tackle, so it’s a little awkward, but I’m doing pretty good at it.”

At the end of the most recent school year, Acey maxed out at 275 pounds on the bench press and 365 pounds on the squat. Where his numbers translate to the college level is something he has given thought to.

“I think I could be a tackle at a D2, but I saw this list that said they want 6-6, 290 guys [for tackle] at D1 colleges,” Acey said.