2 weeks Ago
It didn’t take long for those around Klein Cain High School in Houston (Texas) to know that Matthew Golden would live up to his name. In his first varsity football game, a 56-27 win over Cypress Park, the then 6-foot, 180-pound receiver had seven catches for 166 yards and a school-record four touchdown grabs. Golden results, golden future.
He's projected as a mid-first-round pick in Thursday's NFL Draft after grabbing 134 passes for 1,975 yards and 22 touchdowns in three college seasons, two at Houston and one at Texas. “Matthew has always been able to rise to the occasion,” his high school coach James Clancy told Chris Baldwin of papercitymag.com .
He kept rising after that first game, finishing with 50 catches for 799 yards and 13 touchdowns that sophomore season for the 6-5 Hurricanes. “He has always exceeded what a natural progression would be,” Clancy said. That progression went to less catches as a junior (43), but for a whopping 1,027 yards (23.
9 average) and seven more scores, followed up with the granddaddy of prep seasons — 74 catches for 1,416 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games. He secured 26 college offers, including the one he accepted close to home at the University of Houston. The production helped earn him a four-star ranking by 247Sports, which placed him the 150th player overall in the Class of 2022 and the 25th best receiver.
A 10.93-second sprinter in the 100-meter dash didn’t quite move the needle for some scouts. 247Sports Scouting analyst Gabe Brooks projected Golden as a Day 3 NFL Draft pick to go in rounds 4-7.
“Highly productive over a three-year varsity career at the Texas Class 6A level facing strong competition in Houston Metro,” Brooks wrote. “Simultaneously smooth and sudden in his movement patterns. Accelerates and decelerates with limited wasted motion.
“Terrific when the ball is in the air. Shows tracking concentration and adjustment skills that combine with body control and high-point acumen to win contested throws. .
.. “Bona fide high-major talent with the tools to become a multi-year impact player in college.
Possesses an overall profile with accompanying on-field contest that suggests NFL Draft potential.” That was written in December of 2021. Less than four years later, Golden has indeed exceeded that natural progression.
Three days from the 2025 NFL Draft, Golden is projected as a sure-fire first-round pick. Six of seven CBSSports draft experts have Golden going in the middle of the first round, with four having him going No. 12 to the Dallas Cowboys.
That would not have surprised Clancy when Golden was in high school. His final game in high school was similar to his first game in terms of domination during a 56-53 loss to Spring: Seven catches, 265 yards, three touchdowns, one pass completion on a trick play for 43 yards. “He was like having a grown man out there at times,” Clancy told Baldwin.
Golden’s manly exploits on the field were secondary compared to off of it to Clancy, whose 10-year-old son Brody considers Golden a hero. “First and foremost Matthew is a very good person,” Clancy told Baldwin. “A very good human being.
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He’s got an unbelievable heart. He cares about other people. He cares about teammates, coaches, and family.
He’s a very loyal individual.” All of that contributes when the game is on the line. “Big stakes, big crowns, he rises to the occasion,” Clancy said.
“You knew that whenever he was going to leave us, whenever he went on to the next thing, he’s not going to see a moment that was too big for him.” Like Thursday. More from High School On SI:.
