By Pete Borello
 Town Crier file photo |
WR perseveres, earns scholarship
It didn’t happen the way he imagined, but Grant Mattos has finally received the college football scholarship he’s sought since the late 1990s.
During a spring workout at Foothill College - where he recently finished a stellar community college career - the receiver caught the eye of a University of Southern California coach who was at the Los Altos Hills campus to scout Owls quarterback Ryan Sorahan.
“He saw me running routes and asked me to run some routes for him,” Mattos said of USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow. “He liked what he saw and had Pete Carroll come out to see me.”
Carroll, the Trojans head coach, also liked what he saw from Mattos and quickly offered him a scholarship.
“I guess I was in the right place at the right time,” Mattos said.
Prior to that, Mattos must have felt like he was in the right place at the wrong time. Although he played for schools with winning football traditions - St. Francis High, then Foothill - Mattos couldn’t get a second look from NCAA Division I colleges.
Mattos earned All-West Catholic Athletic League honors after his junior year at St. Francis, but an injury-plagued senior season cost him a shot at a college scholarship.
So he enrolled at Foothill in the fall of 1999 with hopes of earning a scholarship after one season. He had a solid freshman year - hauling in 46 passes for 509 yards and scoring six touchdowns - yet no colleges came calling.
Mattos returned to Foothill for a second year, even more determined to prove he belonged at the Division I level.
The Mountain View resident improved upon his freshman statistics, tallying 76 receptions and 14 touchdowns. An array of accolades soon followed, including All-America Honorable Mention, All-State Team, Regional Most Valuable Offensive Player, Golden Gate Conference Most Valuable Offensive Player and Foothill MVP.
But again, scouts from the four-year colleges ignored him.
“I had a good season and I wasn’t getting any looks at all - not even from Division I-AA or Division II schools,” Mattos said. “It was kind of frustrating.”
The best offer Mattos received was an invitation to walk on at the University of California at Berkeley, with hopes of earning a scholarship down the line.
Mattos was just about to take that offer when Chow noticed him.
“Once (Cal) found out about USC, then they came back with (a scholarship) offer,” Mattos said. “They said it was a coincidental, but I’m not sure.”
Foothill head coach Marshall Sperbeck believes Cal and the other schools who passed on Mattos will regret doing so.
“Grant just did a super job here and should have been recruited by more people,” Sperbeck said. “But USC definitely benefited from having a spot left in the spring for him.”
Both Mattos and Sperbeck can’t figure out why schools shied away from the receiver. Mattos has good size (6-foot-2, 220 pounds), respectable speed (4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash) and is a solid student (3.5 GPA). Mattos rarely drops passes and considers his hands among his greatest strengths. And those who have coached Mattos at St. Francis and Foothill say his work ethic is exemplary.
“He’s probably the hardest working kid we’ve ever had in our program,” said Sperbeck, who’s entering his 10th year as the Owls coach. “No one’s more deserving (of a scholarship) than Grant.”
Mattos, who plans to major in business, said he’s eager to prove he can play at the next level.
“I’m working hard to learn the offense, run better routes and get off the ball faster,” he said. “If I do what I’ve got to do, then I’m in a good position to earn more playing time. I’m hoping to have a good camp, and after that, see where I stand.”
Sperbeck said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Mattos in the starting lineup when USC opens its season Sept. 1 against visiting San Jose State.
Mattos won’t go that far, but did admit the starting job is on his mind.
“I’m thinking about it,” he said. “If I keep working hard and plugging away, something good will happen.”
That’s something Mattos knows from experience.
