Matthews hearing from ACC, SEC

If a high school junior is already being flooded with mail from schools in the ACC and SEC, it's safe to assume he'll be one to watch in the coming months. Athlete Zearrick Matthews may be close to receiving offers, and he's already a hot prospect.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound athlete/dual-threat quarterback from Greenwood, S.C. runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds and is one of the most talented football players in the Palmetto State. The two major in-state schools will obviously be all over Matthews, but they're going to get some stiff competition.

"South Carolina and Clemson have both sent me mail, and since I'm here in the state I'll definitely have to consider them," said Matthews. "Going to either of those schools would let me play on a big stage and develop as a player. I've watched them both for a while, so it's exciting now that they're telling me they're interested in me playing football there."

South Carolina and Clemson will be tough to beat out, but schools like North Carolina, Georgia, Nebraska and others are already letting him know they're interested. Those three, in addition to the in-state schools, are recruiting him as an athlete, telling him that they'll put him wherever he fits in best.

As a junior Matthews racked up about 2,600 yards of total offense rushing and passing and found the endzone 30 times en route to all-region honors.

"Right now I'm keeping all my options open," he said. "The five I mentioned are schools I'm interested in, but I'd like to listen to some others from this area. There's so many good schools in this area with good football, I already know it'll be a hard decision."