Guelph welcomes Matt
Matt Moxon lost his Grade 12 high school football season because of a broken ankle he suffered playing summer ball with the Niagara Spears.
It turned out to be a lucky break.
“It was the worst/best thing that could have happened. We ended up moving here (Welland) and I played my Grade 12 season at Notre Dame and now I am going to be playing uni (university) ball. Two years ago, I didn’t think this was going to be possible,” the 12B student at Notre Dame said Tuesday, after committing to play with the University of Guelph Gryphons.
Notre Dame turned out to be the perfect spot to conclude his high school ball.
“In summer league, I realized I had a good chance and that I could actually go far with this. That summer it really clicked and I just locked in from there and got here. It was like night and day and after my first game, I was talking to Guelph,” the 18-year-old Welland resident said.
It was the first time he had ever had a conversation with a university scout.
“It seemed like none of the coaches came to my old school because it was Tier 2. It was a great school but there are no eyes on it. This (attention from scouts) was a shock because it was a bit of a gamble coming here. Talking to scouts was eye-opening and crazy.”
The 6-foot-2, 270-pounder player, who suited up at centre with Notre Dame and played tackle in the summer with the Niagara Spears, ended up talking to every university in Ontario with the exception of three.
Guelph quickly became the frontrunner.
“On my game day visit, to me it was the family aspect that attracted me. They had the families tailgating and there was a lot of community support. Parents were cooking the meals for all the people, Montana’s was supplying the ribs and Harvey’s was providing the burgers.”
Moxon started playing football in Grade 10 at Governor Simcoe with his brother, Dylan.
“It was a great experience and that birthed a love for football. In Grade 11, I had another great season of high school ball and decided to play summer league.
“I really loved it with Duguay (varsity head coach Brian) and all of them and that fired my love.”
He has become a much better player in the past few years.
“My parents used to say I played like a gentle giant on the field but I found my aggression and expanded my knowledge of the game. I put a lot more time into it, everything changed and I became a better player.”
He believes the aggression was brought out by the Spears coaching staff and was further developed at Notre Dame.
Moxon plans to work hard to prepare for his season as a member of an Ontario University Athletics football program.
“I am going to play Spears again, stay in the gym and keep working out. Spears (winter workouts) start up pretty soon. I want to keep developing in summer ball and go into fall camp ready.”
The future human kinetics major has realistic goals for his first year at Guelph.
“Just the nature of being a lineman, I don’t know if I will get any playing time with how much older the guys are. But I am going to shoot for playing time, shoot to dress and still try as hard a I can to get to the goal of getting on the field.”
He knows it will be a process.
“It’s being patient because I am going against guys who have had years in the weight room. With linemen, it’s size. A lot of it is technique but the big part is strength.”
He is looking forward to get started on his post secondary career.
“I love the game and I am just so happy to continue playing football. It is a great program at Guelph and I can’t wait to continue playing and meet all these new guys.”
Guelph’s Niagara recruiter John Casasanta was quick to approach Moxon after seeing him play at Notre Dame.
“Right away he stood out as someone who could move and he plays that centre spot really well. When you look at offensive linemen in high school, you can tell right away some who are ready for the next step and the OUA,” he said. “He struck me as that type of player who was ready to go and he showed maturity. He is a good leader and speaking with coach (Tim) Bisci, of all his players, the first person he mentioned was Matthew Moxon. He said we needed to keep an eye on this young man because he is ready to play at the next level and he does all the little things right.”
There was mutual interest.
“In our first discussion he was already interested in Guelph so it was a no brainer,” Casasanta said. “We stayed on him, talked to him and made sure we answered if he had any questions. He came up for a visit and brought his dad and it was pretty straightforward. It was a nice process and he adds to what Niagara has already contributed to the University of Guelph in the past 20 years.”
