Matthew Clifton '21 Recruiting Profile

I first became interested in football in second grade but the season was already over and so I had to wait until the next season.  A pee-wee coach who attended my church convinced my mom to let me play.  I discovered my love for playing defense and have been a great defensive player ever since.  My parents, teachers, friends, and coaches influence me everyday.  I spend a lot of time with them and they have taught me to work hard and never quit.   I am doing well in high school and am hoping to get a good education in college so that I can get a good job.  I take academic classes but I am also enrolled in the carpentry classes, taught by one of the football coaches, and I really enjoy that.  By playing football I have learned a lot and am able to apply it to other areas of my life.  Discipline, attention to detail, and that it is ok to make mistakes, just as long as you know you are working at 100%.  You have to make mistakes to learn.

 I am happy to say that I was one of only two freshman moved up to Varsity, and it was because I worked very hard and applied myself.   Because of football I know that I can accomplish more than I ever thought, hard work pays off as I found out when I became a starter this year, and that there is always someone better than me, someone who can do exactly what I can and in order to keep my place on the team or anywhere else in life I have to outwork everyone else.