Ohio DE will be one of 2007s best

Mentor, Ohio, has produced quite a few quality players over the years, and one of the best players in Ohio for 2007 is talented defensive end Steve Matas. Rivals.com first saw him play earlier this season against Massillon, Ohio, where he was all over the field with a ton of tackles.

It's something he carried on throughout the season and will make him an elite prospect for next year's class.

"I go hard no matter what the score is," Matas, who is 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, said. "My motto is that you do it 100 percent of your ability or don't do it at all. I never let myself get down when the other team scores. I don't even look at the scoreboard. I just have to go hard and work hard on every play."

Matas is a three-sport start at Mentor. He excels in football, wrestling and also throws the shot put and discus in track. He's also a workout warrior with a 475-pound squat, 265-pound bench press and a 285-pound power clean. He said he's not really timed himself in the 40-yard dash but he's been clocked in the 4.7-second range before.

"It gets me excited to think that a lot of people are going to be recruiting me," Matas said. "But I don't even really think about it because I love the game too much. I just want to get a shot to play football in college, and that's important to me."

When it comes to early attention, Matas has been getting plenty of it.

He went to an Ohio State game recently and was blown away by the atmosphere. It didn't hurt he admits he grew up a Buckeye fan.

"That game was amazing," Matas said. "Walking through the tunnel… man that was an utterly amazing atmosphere. I didn't get to talk to the head coach, but I talked to coach (Tim) Beckman. He said he's definitely interested.

"He wanted to watch me during wrestling and track season, but he said next year they're going to really need some defensive linemen."

Others that are already sending mail are Purdue, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Cincinnati and Connecticut.