Breaking the Mold

Ryan Mathews' long path to the starting job in San Diego. By Scott Simone

With so many loudmouth, prima donnas in the NFL (see Terrell Owens or Chad Ochocinco), it's easy to paint the league with a wide brush and generalize most NFL players as such.

But Ryan Mathews is a different story. While the rookie running back has tremendous athletic ability, his journey to the NFL was not an easy one by any stretch of the imagination. His mother, Tricia Mathews, gave birth to Ryan when she was just 16-years-old. His father, a man in his thirties, abandoned his mother while she was still pregnant. Tricia, who had been staying in her aunt's house, was soon kicked out and left to live on the streets. For the first four months of his life, Ryan and his mother lived in the back of a 1969 Oldsmobile. To make ends meet, his mother took on numerous jobs, often working overtime. Soon, she was able to afford an apartment for the two of them, but had to continue working multiple jobs.

(Mathews has 87 carries so far this season.

Often left alone, Ryan found refuge in football. Idolizing his hometown hero LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers, Ryan soon became a star high school player for West High School in Bakersfield, California. As a junior, he led West HS to a championship while rushing for 1,104 yards and 18 touchdowns. As a result, he become a highly touted recruit, being recruited by the likes of South California, Michigan, and UCLA.

But that's where he almost lost it all. In an interview with ESPN, Mathews said, "I felt like the big man on campus. I had all these colleges sending me letters. It was like I was untouchable." Mathews started skipping classes and his grades dropped. Those big-time offers disappeared. Mathews quickly learned his lesson. Inspired by his mother, who never quit while trying to get them off the streets, he went to summer school and was able to pull his grades up.

Mathews enrolled in Fresno State University. Wearing his idol's number 21, he led the nation in rushing yards as a junior with 150 yards per game and totaled 1,808 yards 19 touchdowns on the season. After the season, he was named second team All-American and decided to forego his senior year and enter the NFL draft.

(Mathews wore Tomlinson's number 21 at Fresno State.)

The San Diego Chargers traded up 16 spots to draft Mathews 12^th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft and on August 1^st, Mathews signed a $26.65 million contract with the Chargers–with $15 million guaranteed. The first thing he bought, oddly enough, was a car for his mom.

(Through the first eight games of his career, Mathews has 382 yards and two touchdowns.)