WATCH: 2024 top-10 ATH Mike Matthews records 99-yard touchdown reception
Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview four-star athlete Mike Matthews is one of the most dynamic players in the 2024 cycle. He demonstrated why on Friday night against Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek.
Matthews caught a pass in the middle of the field in front of his defenders. He then raced 99 yards to the end zone.
The 6-foot-0.5, 180 pound prospect is the No. 8 overall prospect and No. 1 athlete in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 2 player in Georgia.
Matthews made another spectacular play later in the game. He snagged a leaping catch over Mill Creek five-star safety and Alabama commit Caleb Downs, the No. 11 overall prospect in the 2023 On300.
According the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, it is a close race between multiple schools for Matthews’ commitment. Currently, Clemson has the highest odds for his pledge at 35.6%. Georgia has the next-best odds at 21.1%.
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RPM was released to the public in December. The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college.
It factors in machine learning, social sentiment, visits and historical trends. However, expert predictions are still a big piece of the RPM equation.
Matthews has an On3 NIL Valuation of $129K. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.
Mike Matthews has started his junior season off strong
In the first game of his junior season, Matthews had an impressive performance on both sides of the ball. He recorded multiple receiving touchdowns, as well as an interception.
On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power had high praise for the play of the 6-foot-0.5, 180 pound prospect.
“Mike Matthews showed off his advanced coordination and functional athleticism on Wednesday night in his junior season opener,” Power wrote. “The Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview standout was completely dominant in the first-half of a blowout win, making a number of impressive grabs in rainy conditions. Matthews easily beat man coverage on two touchdown grabs, elevated for an interception in traffic and tracked a wet football over his shoulder on a long reception. He finished with six catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns and the interception.”