'No one really saw this coming': Chargers' Scott Matlock is NFL's ultra-rare two-way player

In Matt Holtry’s 16 years of coaching high school football in Homedale, Idaho, he needed to pack two jerseys – one for offense and the other for defense – for just one player.

So when it came time to retire Scott Matlock’s number this summer, Homedale had to decide which jersey number would go in the rafters: 44 or 99? Drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in the sixth round last year, Matlock wore “99” as a defensive lineman, same as he did at Boise State. The No. 44 jersey went into the glass case.

Little did Matlock – or anybody – know then that a few months later he would don the number once again.

“It was kind of surreal that happened the way it did,” Holtry told USA TODAY Sports.

Matlock is still playing on the Chargers’ defensive line and contributing on special teams, but he’s emerged as a mainstay in the team’s offense under first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman. At the end of training camp, they switched his jersey number to 44, signaling he’d have a greater role in the offense. Through five games, Matlock has been on the field for 37% of the Chargers’ offensive snaps, compared to 18% of defensive plays (he also plays more than half the time on special teams).

According to an analysis of snap-count data on Pro Football Reference after Week 6, seven teams (including the Chargers) have had players take snaps on both offense and defense this season – eight players for a total of 25 plays. Matlock has been on the field for 166 plays from scrimmage, and that number excludes the 74 times he’s trotted out there on special teams. Matlock may have to wait until Travis Hunter, the potential No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft who plays both cornerback and wide receiver for Colorado, for any real competition in that department.

“The last six weeks, seven weeks, they’ve definitely been fun,” Matlock told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s just been going by so quick, as life does.”

At 24, Matlock knows that better than many people with more life experience. His journey is not only one of defense to offense, but from foster care to unheralded college football prospect to NFL draft pick.

“He’s been through so much. If there’s anybody that deserves this, it’s him,” Holtry said. “But he’s so good about it. He’s so humble about it.”

Forging through tragedy – and realizing a football dream

Matlock’s father, Doug, died from cancer when Scott was 9. Four years later, Matlock found his mother dead on the couch after she succumbed to heart disease. With his older brother Steven at the University of Idaho as a freshman offensive lineman, Scott Matlock entered the state’s foster care system.

He eventually wound up with Mike and Donna Marose of Homedale, Idaho, about 45 miles away from where Matlock grew up in Boise. Before Matlock began his freshman year at Homedale, Donna set up a meeting with the new family and Holtry, the school’s football coach and principal.

“He was kinda like, almost, that beat dog,” Holtry said. “He didn’t want to be there. You could tell this was not part of his plan.”

Matlock was skinny and awkward on the junior varsity football field; the coaches called him “bambi.” The potential was there, though. There was hope he would grow into his frame, as Stephen had.

Pretty soon, Holtry could tell Matlock was destined for something beyond being a good small-town high school football player. He would practice pass rush moves on the pillars in Homedale’s hallway.

“He was always thinking about football. He was always talking about football,” Holtry said.

Sometime around spring of his sophomore year, Matlock got in trouble for sneaking out. Donna was upset and threatened to take away football and transfer him to a different school. Holtry talked her off that ledge.

“They held him to a high standard and they had expectations for him,” Holtry said. “They were going to make sure that he was doing the right things and being the right person. It was great for him. Because he needed that.”

Matlock knows he wouldn’t have made it through that trying time in his life without the Maroses.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them, that’s for sure,” he said. “They took me in, loved me like one of their own, raised me to be a responsible young man. Couldn’t say enough about them.”

Matlock’s ability to play multiple positions dates back to Homedale. Holtry’s strategy with Matlock on the field was simple enough: put him at the point of attack. Matlock played defensive tackle, defensive end, tight end, H-back and all five offensive line positions.

“The kid literally was like the Swiss-Army knife of high school football,” Holtry said, “and it’s awesome to see that this is the story that’s unfolding at the NFL level. Because that’s what he was for us.”

Harbaugh is somebody Holtry has followed since he coached at the University of San Diego two decades ago. The foundations of their offense – the power and counter-iso scheme –  are similar, Holtry said.

“The guy’s a machine,” Holtry said. “If a guy is in his way, he’s going to move them.”

As Matlock’s senior season approached, Holtry placed a call to his teammate at Boise State, Andy Avalos, then the school's linebackers coach.

If there was a kid worth taking a shot on, it was Matlock, he told Avalos. The school didn’t offer a scholarship right away. Eastern Washington, Weber State, Idaho State and the University of Idaho came through with offers of their own. Finally, Boise State told Matlock there was a scholarship with his name on it.

“The rest is history,” Holtry said.

“It was definitely a dream come true,” Matlock said.

Embracing a do-it-all mentality

At Boise State, the coaches called the package “Clydesdales.” The big bodies from the defensive line would run onto the field to provide the heft to help the Broncos in short-yardage situations, usually near the goal line.

Matlock would often stand behind Avalos, who became the Broncos’ head coach in 2021, and slam his heel into the ground, acting like a horse ready to go. “You know what time it is,” he’d tell Avalos.

“I loved it,” Avalos, now the defensive coordinator at Texas Christian, told USA TODAY Sports. “Because you knew what you were getting out of those dudes on the field.”

Matlock showed up to Boise State at 240 pounds. Over five years, he molded himself into a dominating physical presence. What Avalos misses about coaching Matlock is that “he just brings a vibe in the hardest of times – training and preparation – that you just love.” He works hard without making it difficult for those around him.

“I don’t care what locker room you put that guy in,” Avalos said. “He’s going to die for the cause – to do what’s right for the team.”

By the time his senior season arrived in 2022, Matlock worked his way onto the Bednarik and Outland Trophy watch lists after a seven-sack campaign the year prior. He caught a touchdown against Utah State in 2021 and did the same on Senior Day in 2022, which became one of his favorite college memories.

“From a defensive standpoint, his football IQ is extremely high,” Avalos said.

Matlock could distinguish a run or pass play from his three-point pass before the ball was snapped. After he did that all game against Air Force, the academy's future opponents hit Matlock up for weeks on social media to figure out how he did it.

But his biggest impact came by simply entering the game, former Boise State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Plough said.

“Just him being around those guys in the huddle instantly improved our mentality down there, and so we were much better in those situations,” Plough, now the head coach at UC-Davis, told USA TODAY Sports.

The Broncos coaching staff could line Matlock up in the backfield to be the lead blocker or put him in-line at tight end to dominate the edge if there was a matchup they liked.

“He would completely cave his side, and we would basically just run behind him,” Plough said.

No one expected him to be involved in the pass game, but the coaching staff was certainly aware of his athleticism – even beyond the football field. Avalos said his “loose hips” made him one of the best golfers he’s ever seen. He dominated team bowling events.

But catching passes in the NFL from Justin Herbert (Matlock has one reception for seven yards)?

“Seeing him do that now is not shocking,” Plough said. “Seeing him have success is not shocking.”

For Matlock to have the physical capability is one thing. The mental aspect is the key, Plough said.

In college, Matlock would return to the football coaches’ offices after class Monday or Tuesday and watch the five or six plays he needed to learn on tape. At practice, usually Wednesdays, he’d sprint from one side to the other for his package of plays during the offensive goal-line period.

“Immediately, the offense would raise its level of play because they had someone driving them with that mentality. Like, ‘We’re going to get this yard guys. We’re going to get this done.’ That was infectious. And I’m sure it still is today.”

An unlikely NFL idea takes shape

Maybe Matlock took Travis Kelce a little too literally.

Following the Kansas City Chiefs’ defeat of the Chargers last October, Matlock approached the Chiefs tight end. He asked for advice.

“You know what it is?” the nine-time Pro Bowler told Matlock in a conversation captured by microphones. “Understand the other side of the ball just as well as you know your side of the ball.”

After the game, Matlock had an idea.

“I was like, ‘Well, I’ll just play offense, too,’” he said. “It’s kind of ironic.”

The joke of Matlock playing offense first popped up when former Chargers offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, a fellow Boise State product, told reporters questioning the team’s tight-end production “maybe we’ve got something here.”

Harbaugh and his staff came in, and suddenly no one was laughing at the idea of Matlock on offense.

“It wasn’t really my idea,” Matlock said. “There may have been some juking around in training camp. Obviously, they knew I played that package in college and I caught two touchdown passes and had some good hands.”

Matlock juggles his different hats every morning. Offensive meeting. Defensive meeting. Walkthrough on offense. Walkthrough on defense. There’s a special teams meeting somewhere in there and walkthroughs for that unit, too. He practices mostly with the defensive line but also mixes in repetitions with the offense.

“It’s a lot more than in college,” said Matlock, who is now responsible for mastering an entire playbook at the professional level – not exactly the same as five plays to memorize for Mountain West opponents.

Roman converted another former defensive lineman into an offensive player with the Baltimore Ravens in Patrick Ricard, the four-time Pro Bowl fullback who dabbled as a two-way threat early in his career.

“Scott has a lot on his plate, and it’s amazing how he’s handling it,” Roman said in September. “I can’t speak enough about how diligently he’s preparing, and he’s getting better every week. How impressive is that?”

In Roman’s offense, Matlock takes on the role of the H-back, which is similar to the position he played in Holtry’s scheme back in Homedale.

“I don’t think (Roman) was all too against doing it,” Matlock said. “We started slow. It just kind of built up from there into what it is. No one really saw this coming, I don’t think.”

Remembering his roots

At his jersey retirement in Homedale, Matlock stood in the beating sun for 45 minutes to sign everything the kids in attendance handed him.

Matlock could have quit or made excuses given everything he went through as a child and nobody would have thought twice, Holtry said. That’s not what Matlock did, though.

“He’s got such a good heart,” Holtry said. “People that know him, he’s such a teddy bear.”

Steven Matlock has lived with Scott Matlock since the latter’s junior year at Boise State. They’re golfing buddies. Matlock said his big brother is his inspiration, motivator and role model.

“He’s been my rock for a while,” Matlock said.

Matlock served on the leadership council at Boise State. His main message to teammates, Plough said, often revolved around “have to versus want to.”

“He had that mindset with everything he did, from training in the offseason, to playing offense or defense. I think he felt really grateful. He had that humility about him.”

Matlock never panicked. He was always solution-oriented. Negativity wasn’t acceptable.

“The adversity that has shaped him would break a lot of people,” Plough said. “All it did for him was make him such a strong individual and someone who’s able to go through adversity and overcome it.”

Last season, Matlock recorded 15 tackles and one quarterback hit in 12 games. Now he’s a presence in three phases.

“I still got GMs and D-line coaches in the NFL that are like, ‘We screwed up,’” Avalos said. “He was a guy. And I’m so happy for him, that he’s doing what he’s doing now.”

How Matlock made it to this point is something he asks himself.

“I still wonder that to this day, honestly,” Matlock said. “Took it one day at a time. That’s all I really could do, just make it to the next day. Just keep moving on.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chargers' Scott Matlock is NFL's ultra-rare two-way player