USF football’s top NFL draft candidate barely played for Bulls

TAMPA — The drought has spanned more than a half-decade, 37 rounds and counting. Seems Mel Kiper had a mullet the last time a USF player heard his name uttered at the NFL draft podium.

But the futility may be nearing its end, courtesy of a prospect with a high motor, imposing measurables — and practically zero game tape.

Mr. Irrelevant, meet Mr. Improbable: former USF basketball player and one-time Bulls football experiment Bayron Matos.

“It’s a dream come true,” he said.

As NFL dreams go, this is one of the wildest. A Dominican Republic native who played three years of college basketball in America, Matos has played only a handful of snaps in organized football. He initially tried football in the spring of 2022 at the behest of former Bulls coach Jeff Scott, and worked out on both the offensive and defensive lines and on special teams, but made only a couple of cameo appearances that fall.

“(Scott) gave me an opportunity to come here and push me through, tell me I had a good shot to do this,” said Matos, who was listed at 6-foot-9, 291 pounds his one season at USF. “(Defensive line) coach (Da’Quan) Bowers, the old coaching staff here, those guys told me, ‘You’ve got a shot.’ I wanted to do it for me and my people, for them. They gave me an opportunity.”

He didn’t play anywhere last fall, but missed the game and wanted to give it another shot. His opportunity arrived via the NFL International Player Pathway program, a league initiative designed to “cover and develop elite global talent capable of competing in the NFL.”

Matos, 23, was among 15 players (representing seven different countries) chosen for the program’s Class of 2024. The group, which worked out extensively at IMG Academy, participated March 20 at USF’s pro day, where Matos ran the 40-yard dash in 4.88 seconds.

Had he run at the NFL combine, that time would have been the fastest among all offensive linemen invited.

“Obviously the guys did pro day when I was here, when I was on the football team,” said Matos, who transferred from New Mexico and averaged 1.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 10.6 minutes a game in his lone season (2021-22) on the Bulls basketball team. “I said, “I want to do that, man.’ ”

Evidently, the NFL has grown fascinated with his physical upside. A dozen teams have sent offensive line coaches to work out Matos, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, who reports that he currently measures at 6-7, 313 pounds with 35¼-inch arms.

“He is smooth, with good foot/hand coordination, and possesses rare punch explosion, former NFL executive Scott Pioli, player-personnel chief for three Patriots Super Bowl teams, recently wrote on NFL.com.

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“As a lifelong evaluator, you just know rare punch/explosion when you hear it and see it. You can hear his punch from the other side of the field.”

As it stands, he and fellow former Bulls offensive lineman Donovan Jennings represent USF’s best draft hopes for 2024. If one or both are selected, they’ll be the first Bulls taken since receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling was drafted by the Packers in the fifth round in 2018.

“It’s something I wanted to do,” Matos said. “Football back home, where I’m from ... there’s not, like, football players. I wanted to do it for my community and my people back in the (Dominican Republic).”

Correction

Bayron Matos played a handful of snaps for USF during the 2022 season. An earlier version of this story misstated the extent of his playing time, based on erroneous information provided by the university.

NFL draft

April 25-27, Detroit TV: ESPN, ABC, NFL Network

Round 1, 8 p.m. April 25; Rounds 2-3, 7 p.m. April 26; Rounds 4-7, noon April 27

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