A Temple football star takes to the diamond

Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich enters his senior season with more career tackles (355) than any active college player. The closest pursuer, Mason Monheim of Illinois, is 61 tackles behind.

Yet when Matakevich was a senior at St. Joseph's High School in Trumbull, Conn., he did as much hitting on the baseball diamond as he did on the football field.

The 6-foot-1, 232-pound Matakevich was so proficient in baseball that even as late as his senior year in high school, he wasn't sure what sport to pursue.

"I originally thought I was going to play baseball in college," Matakevich said. "But I just loved football so much and didn't want to give it up."

Matakevich was an all-conference baseball player and a versatile one: He was a catcher, first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder.

He never took to the mound, but that didn't stop him from throwing out the first pitch Wednesday night before the Phillies played Toronto.

"It was the longest 10 seconds of my life," he said afterward.

But just as in football, Makakevich was right on target with his pitch.

"I don't know why, but this was the most nervous I have ever been," Matakevich said. "Right before they announced my name my stomach just dropped and I froze up for a few seconds, but I threw it over and it didn't look too bad."

Matakevich said he had many more college baseball offers, from schools in Divisions I, II, and III, than he did in football. Still, he decided to attend Milford Academy, choosing football over baseball. The prep school doesn't have a baseball team.

"It was a tough decision for me because I really loved baseball," Matakevich said.

As an all-American candidate on a Temple team with high hopes after a 6-6 season, Matakevich knows he made the right decision.

Still, he admits that not playing baseball has created a void. And it is a sport that was a little easier on his body.

"Of course I miss it all the time, especially after games when you wake up on Sunday," he said. "You don't really have that feeling in baseball."

Matakevich said he grew up following baseball and was a big Derek Jeter fan, so having the chance to take to the diamond, even for one pitch, was a big thrill for somebody who has accumulated many of them on the football field.

"This is definitely up there," he said when asked how this ranks on the thrill meter. "Representing Temple football and Temple University is something I will remember for the rest of my life."

For one night he could think back to his baseball career, but his immediate concern is the Owls' Sept. 5 opener at Lincoln Financial Field against Penn State.

"I can't wait to get started," he said.

It's likely that he won't be as nervous playing against the Nittany Lions as he was delivering that first pitch at Citizens Bank Park.