Plum’s Matolcsy experiences uptick in Ivy League recruitment

By: Greg Macafee
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 | 3:42 PM

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Plum’s Max Matolcsy has seen his football recruitment hit a new level in recent weeks.

After receiving offers from Penn on Feb. 7 and Army on Feb. 11, Matolcsy added one that fast-tracked his recruitment when Harvard offered Feb 28.

After a great day on campus, I’m blessed to have recieved an offer from Harvard University @CoachKKennedy @ScottLarkee pic.twitter.com/4G2UOLguAW

— Max Matolcsy (@MaxMatolcsy) February 28, 2020

“We had a little period of talking with coaches and stuff like that after the Penn offer, and then the coaches (Harvard) invited us up,” Matolcsy said. “I never really thought the offer would happen. But, when I got there, one of the coaches gravitated towards me, and I had a really fun day on campus. At the end, I got to talk to head coach, (Tim) Murphy, and that’s when it happened.

“It was pretty surprising, my dad was in the office with me, and the look on his face described it all. It was a big step. It was pretty amazing.”

The offer was the first of four over the next six days. Yale and Brown offered on back-to-back days, and then Cornell offered March 5. Matolcsy has five offers from Ivy League schools, which is where he said he wants to play in college.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound junior always has dreamed of playing college football and, possibly, in the NFL. But he knows the chances of achieving that dream are slim and wants to make sure he succeeds on the field and in the classroom.

“I’ve played football since I was younger, and it’s everyone’s dream to go to the NFL,” Matolcsy said. “But, in all honesty, not all of us are going to make it. So I want to go to a college where I can excel and play football but also be set up for life.”

Matolcsy was one of the key players for Plum offensively and defensively last fall. As a linebacker racked up 138 tackles — 60 solo, 78 assisted — including 11 tackles for a loss.

On offense, he was a key receiver, catching 26 passes for 527 yards and seven touchdowns. He also completed his only pass attempt for a 48-yard touchdown. Even though he had a successful junior season, the offers didn’t come right away, but Matolcsy stayed patient.

“I’ve been talking with a lot of friends and things like that, and early back in January, you started to see some guys start getting offers,” Matolcsy said. “It made the rest of us get a little bit nervous, like, ‘Dang, what’s gonna happen?’ But then in February, everything started to open up for me and a lot of my friends.”

Not only has his recruitment seen an uptick, but Matolcsy also was invited to the Elite Underclassmen Camp in April.

Big thanks to @HamiltonESPN for the invite. Can’t wait to come compete pic.twitter.com/1AZIlA09r9

— Max Matolcsy (@MaxMatolcsy) March 6, 2020

The Elite Underclassmen Camp gives players the opportunity to be evaluated by scoutsand receive instruction from coaches with NFL backgrounds. Players also will hear a talk from ESPN’s national scouting director, Tom Luginbill.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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