Matthew Leo (born 8 May 1992) is an Australian former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

and coach who is a player development assistant for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Iowa State Cyclones The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's and 1 ...

and spent three seasons with the Eagles as a player, joining them through the

International Player Pathway Program International Player Pathway (IPP) is a program run by the National Football League (NFL) to increase the number of players from outside the United States or Canada in the NFL. The program was formed as part of the NFL's strategy to grow globally ...

(IPPP).

Early life and education

Matthew Leo was born on 8 May 1992 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, and raised in the suburb of

Semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

. He played

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

for

St Michael's College, Adelaide St Michael's College is a Catholic school in the Lasallian tradition located in the western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The college consists of two campuses; a primary campus located at Beverley for students in Reception to Year 6, an ...

, in year 10. However his passion was

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

and he played for a club in Adelaide. Matt is of Rotuman descent from his paternal side. He worked as a plumber before playing American football professionally. He went to college at

Arizona Western College Arizona Western College (AWC) is a public community college in Yuma, Arizona. It offers associate degrees, occupational certificates, and transfer degrees. AWC also offers classes in Dateland, Parker, San Luis, Somerton, and Wellton. Aca ...

before going to

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...

, making his debut at the age of 26. He was a medical redshirt in 2017. He had 33 tackles and 3 sacks in his college football career. He was named first-team Academic All-Big 12 in 2019.

Professional career

On 27 April 2020, Leo was allocated to the

as part of the

. He was waived during final roster cuts on 4 September 2020, and signed to the practice squad under an international player exemption two days later. He signed a reserve/future contract with the team after the season on 4 January 2021. Leo was selected by the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

in the fourth round (35th overall) of the

2021 CFL Global Draft The 2021 CFL global draft took place on April 15, 2021 and was the first CFL draft that pooled all of the global players together after previously having separate drafts for Mexican players and European players in 2019. 36 players were chosen f ...

in April 2021. On 4 May 2021, he was given an NFL roster exemption as an international player for a second season. On 31 August 2021, Leo was waived by the Eagles and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles on 18 January 2022. On 30 August 2022, Leo was waived by the Eagles and signed to the practice squad the next day. On 15 February 2023, Leo signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles.

Post-playing career

On 25 July 2023, Leo announced his retirement from the NFL. Soon after, he was hired as a defensive and football operations assistant on the coaching staff. On 9 June 2024, Leo was promoted to the role of player development assistant.

References

External links

Matt Leo Discusses His Journey from Australia to the NFL , Eagles Press ConferenceFrom Plumbing to the NFL: The Matt Leo Story , NFL Undiscovered – YouTubeMatt Leo Talks Fulfilling His Dream of Being in the NFL , Eagles One-On-One – YouTubeIowa State bioPhiladelphia Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leo, Matt 1992 births Living people Australian emigrants to the United States Australian players of American football American football defensive ends Iowa State Cyclones football players International Player Pathway participants Philadelphia Eagles players Philadelphia Eagles coaches Arizona Western Matadors football players Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate players of American football Australian plumbers Sportsmen from South Australia Sportspeople from Adelaide 21st-century Australian sportsmen