Bio

Cliff Matthews is in his first season as Defensive Line Coach with Reinhardt Football.

Matthews, a former standout defensive lineman at South Carolina, comes to the Eagles after three seasons as the defensive line coach at NCAA Division II Limestone (S.C.).

In his first year with the Saints, Matthews mentored a defensive unit that ranked sixth in the South Atlantic Conference with 23 sacks to go with 46 quarterback hurries. Senior Kelvin Atkins anchored the defensive line with 4.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss, earning All-SAC honors under Matthews leadership in 2019.

Limestone fielded a very young group on the defensive line during the 2020-21 campaign – a season that was shortened to only four games in the spring of 2021.

A two-year team captain with the Gamecocks, Matthews joined the Blue and Gold after serving as an assistant coach at Northview High School (Ga.) in 2018. Prior to his time at Northview, he enjoyed a seven-year professional playing career in both the NFL and the Canadian Football League.

Taken in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, Matthews recorded 28 tackles in 28 career games. He was a part of the 2012 Falcons team that reached the NFC Championship Game and the 2016 squad that played in Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots.

Matthews played all four years at South Carolina under former head coach Steve Spurrier, and was a three-time All-SEC selection and the team’s most valuable player as a senior. He led the SEC in fumble recoveries as a junior and ranked in the top-5 in both forced fumbles and sacks in 2009.

He was named to a number of watch lists prior to his senior year, including the Bronko Nagurski Award and the Ted Hendricks Award Watch Lists, before helping guide the Gamecocks to an SEC Championship Game appearance against eventual national champion Auburn during the 2010 campaign.

During his four years in Columbia, Matthews played in 51 games and posted 149 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles, and five fumbles recovered. Matthews, who earned Sporting News Freshman All-American honors in 2007, still ranks seventh in team history in career sacks.

Matthews graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology with a minor in Social Work.