Tyler Matthews Army All-American Game Presentation:

 Source:  U.S. Army All-American Bowl Facebook Page

Source:  U.S. Army All-American Bowl Facebook Page

 Halie, Randy, Tyler, Jennifer and Cameron

Yesterday afternoon, in the gym at McPherson High School in McPherson, Kansas, our grandson Tyler Matthews was the guest of honor as he was presented his jersey to play in the January 7, 2012 Army All-American Game.  Tyler is a quarterback.  We were unable to be there for the ceremony, but we will there for the game.  Congratulations, Tyler!

 Source:  U.S. Army All-American Bowl Facebook Page

I copied and pasted a couple of great articles from Rivals.com and KAKE.com.  I hope they won't mind.  Please check out their websites when you get a chance. 

U.S. Army All American Bowl Press Release Link

Rivals.com Article:
October 11, 2011

Brian Perroni

Rivals.com Football Recruiting

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MORE ARMY BOWL: 2012 All-Americans | Tour home
 
McPherson, Kan., quarterback Tyler Matthews has a special place in his heart for the United States Army. His father is an Army veteran and served in Iraq and many other family members have also gone through the ranks.

Tyler Matthews is excited to represent future Big 12 member TCU in the Army Bowl.

On Tuesday afternoon the 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior was honored with a ceremony at his school officially inviting him to play in the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. It is not something that Matthews takes lightly as he knows the prestige that comes along with such an honor.

"I'm very proud to be involved with an event with the U.S. Army with all the men and women that are serving our country," Matthews said. "It really is a huge honor. I'm really excited for it. It's going to be a great time and I'm looking forward to it.

"They told us a little about what it meant to be selected. I know they said they took into account who we are both on and off the field. It means a whole to know that our character was part of why we were chosen. It is more than just football. That is something that I am definitely proud of."
Matthews knows the history of game itself as well. Having watched it both on television and in person he knows that only the best players in the country are invited to play in the annual contest.

"It's a huge honor to be a part of an event with all the great athletes that have taken part in the present and the past," he said. "My sophomore year I actually went to the combine down there. I got to watch the game in person. That was awesome back then. I looked up to those guys and I never even imagined I would get to play in the game one day. It was kind of a dream come true."

Matthews has seen many of the games alumni go onto very successful college and NFL careers and says it means a lot to him to be able to participate in the same game in which they took part.

"I know guys like Adrian Peterson and Tim Tebow have played in the game in the past," he said. "Knowing that they played in the same game that we're all going to be playing in and knowing that they're successful is really neat for sure.

"I also know a few guys personally who have played in it. The Browns - Arthur Brown and Bryce Brown - I know both of them. Bubba Starling played in it last year. I played against him. I looked up to them when they were playing in high school and I didn't ever see myself getting the same honor that they got being able to play in the Army game."

Matthews made an early commitment to TCU and remains strong in that pledge. Despite the game taking place in their home state the Horned Frogs have only had one signee play in the Army Bowl prior to this year. Two others in addition to Matthews - Edward Pope and Ethan Perry - have also been selected to this year's game and the talented quarterback sees it as a chance to make fans of the program proud.

"I love getting a chance to represent TCU," he said. "Representing them in any way positive that I can is a big deal to me. It's exciting and I hope they're excited. Obviously with them going to the Big 12 it's a really exciting time for TCU. I'm going to go down there and represent TCU in a positive way and have fun doing it. It'll be cool knowing that (Pope and Perry) are there too and we'll be playing together."


In addition Matthews is also close to another quarterback taking part in the game and looks forward to spending time together off the field and a friendly rivalry on it.

"Gunner Kiel just got named to the game and I'm really excited about that," Matthews said. "He and I are really good friends. We've been at the Elite 11 and a few other things together and we've stayed in contact. We text all the time. That's going to be really fun to get to hang out with him all week and in the game with him."

Matthews and the West team take on the East in the 12th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game will be nationally televised on NBC.  Source:  Rivals.com

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KAKE: Army All-American Bowl Selects McPherson's Matthews Article:

October 11, 2011

Tyler Matthews of McPherson High School, McPherson, KS, has been selected to play in the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, joining an elite group of All-Americans. Those selected will play in the game on Saturday, January 7, 2012, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The annual East vs. West match-up will be televised live on NBC at 1:00 p.m. EST and will feature the nation’s top 90 high school football players.

“Tyler is a talented athlete whose leadership and teamwork qualities have made him a standout at McPherson High School,” said John Myers, Director of Strategic Communications, Marketing and Outreach, U.S. Army Accessions Command. “Only the strongest wear the Army colors, and Tyler possesses similar mental, emotional and physical strengths to Army Strong Soldiers. We are proud to honor all of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl players and congratulate each of them on their selection.”

Matthews was selected by the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Selection Committee, which consists of All American Games’ network of regional directors and Rivals.com. U.S. Army All-Americans are eligible for the U.S. Army Player of the Year Award, the Anthony Muñoz Lineman of the Year Award, the American Family Insurance Defensive Player of the Year Award, the Pete Dawkins Game MVP Award, and the Felix “Doc” Blanchard and Glenn Davis Awards.

As a result of Matthews being selected to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, his head coach Tom Young is invited to travel to San Antonio and attend the U.S. Army Coaches Academy, an elite three-day learning experience featuring NFL and NCAA coaches, as well as participate in game-week activities.

For more than 11 years, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl has been the nation’s premier high school football game, serving as the preeminent launching pad for America’s future college and NFL stars. Adrian Peterson, Mark Sanchez, Tim Tebow, Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Lattimore, and Andrew Luck all made their national debuts as U.S. Army All-Americans. The 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl drew a crowd of nearly 38,000 to the Alamodome, and was the most-watched sporting event on television over the weekend, excluding the NFL playoffs.

The U.S. Army Accessions Command (USAAC), a subordinate command of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, meets the human resource needs of the Army by transforming volunteers into officers, warrant officers, and enlisted Soldiers. In providing the force, the 18,391 men and women of Accessions Command prepare these future Soldiers and leaders for their initial military training. Commanded by Lt. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, USAAC is located at Fort Knox, Ky.

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl is owned and produced by All American Games, a New Jersey-based sport marketing and event management company. The U.S. Army is the title sponsor of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, and American Family Insurance is the principal secondary sponsor.  Other national sponsors include Rivals.com, San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau, Russell Athletic, Adidas, Gatorade, Schutt Sports, NCSA, TapouT, Oakley, NewTek and Football University. National sponsors of the All-American Marching Band include NAfME: The National Association for Music Education, Drum Corps International, Jupiter Band Instruments and DeMoulin Uniforms."  Source:  KAKE.com

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More links to this story:

Scout.com

Rivals.com ~ Game Roster

Go Army.com ~ Player Bios

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If you enjoyed this post, you will probably want to check out this one too:

Source:  Nike's "The Opening" Brochure

During the week of July 5-9, 2011, Cary and I were privileged to attend "The Opening", watching quarterback grandson Tyler Matthews (#43 the first day, and #15 on game days) play with 150 of the best high school football players in the United States. The event was held at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. I hope that you enjoy the pictures ... some are better photos than others, but I tried to capture as many kids as I could.


There are approximately 500 photos in these slide shows. They are of the players, the fans, our family and everybody/everything that caught my eye. They are in chronological order. No names are on the pictures, even if I do know who people were.


As time permits, I will also be writing blog posts about my experience as a spectator. Since I still have a lot to learn about football and this is not a sports blog, I'll write some human interest stories as seen through my eyes. That said, Tyler Matthews, YOU ROCK!!!!


PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK: http://oregongiftsofcomfortandjoy.blogspot.com/2011/07/photos-of-nikes-opening-july-5-9-2011.html

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Some up and coming football stars last July:
Jake Rodreigues, Christo Kourtzidis, Kolby Listenbee,  Zach Kline, and Tyler Matthews

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.