The 6-foot-5.5, 235-pound Matavao said he’s also scheduled to visit Alabama on Thursday and Georgia on Friday before heading home. He said he “wanted to visit all three” schools, but “especially Tennessee” after Vols tight ends coach
Brian Niedermeyer stopped at his school twice within the past several months.
“I was like, 'All right, he came out. I need to come out there.’ And I had the time of my life up there,” said Matavao, who’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 89 overall prospect and No. 3 tight end in the 2021 class. "He's a great guy. Just seeing everything, I really liked Tennessee a lot.”
Matavao, who received an offer from Tennessee on March 1, said he enjoyed “everything” about his visit with the Vols, from exploring their campus and sitting in on some of their meetings Wednesday to spending time with Niedermeyer and “just seeing what all the coaches were about.” Tennessee head coach
Jeremy Pruitt, offensive coordinator
Jim Chaney and Niedermeyer all were “getting to know me,” Matavao said, and discussed “a lot of football” and “what Tennessee has to offer me.”
“They were glad to show me the campus because a lot of people, they were saying, don’t make it out and make a decision before seeing Tennessee,” Matavao said. “And I can see why they should go to Tennessee, because it’s a heck of a place — just besides football, and (above) all, the football there, too. It was amazing. “Taking a tour of the stadium, I did not expect it to be that big and holding, what, over (100,000)? And all the brick inside the stadium, it was intriguing just seeing it.”
“They like my athleticism,” he said. “(Chaney) was telling me I’d be a first-down guy, third-down safety (valve) and a red-zone target. That’s basically what a tight end is. He told me how tight ends aren’t going to get a 95-yard touchdown, which is pretty obvious. We’re the saviors, as he said. “Watching the plays they put in, it’s always 12, 21 (personnel) — the tight ends are always in the game — so I can see that in their offensive playbook. … I can see they run a pro-style offense, and that’s an offense I’m probably geared toward more.”
The time he spent with Niedermeyer, who already had been staying in contact with him over the past few months, was among the highlights of the visit. “(I like) definitely just his laid-back personality,” Matavao said of Niedermeyer. “That’s something I like in a coach — just laid-back, but when it’s time to get serious, it’s serious. He broke down my film, showed me some pointers, but it was all laid-back and cool. “I can tell he’s a great guy to be around, and I like that a lot.”
While Matavao said he’s not sure when he might make another trip to Tennessee, he added that he will “visit again,” probably during the “next go-around” that brings him back to the Southeast. “Even if I come up for a game, that would be great,” he said, “if I can work around my team’s schedule.” He said he’s “just getting started” in exploring many of his options. UNLV, Washington, UCLA, Colorado and Colorado State were the only schools he had visited before traveling to Tennessee on Wednesday.
Matavao said geography won’t be “a huge factor” in his decision, and he made it clear he’s intrigued by the opportunity to play in the SEC. “I want to have my parents come to my games,” Matavao said. “But, all in all, I want to go play the biggest, best competition, and that’s where the SEC is. I would love to play in the SEC. … I love college football, and getting a chance to play it — especially at the highest level, in the SEC — is something I definitely would want to be playing in.”
At this point, he doesn’t expect to choose a school any time soon. “I’m in no hurry to make a decision,” Matavao said. “Next summer is probably at the earliest, but nothing too early.”
