Matthew Thomas Overton (born July 6, 1985) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

long snapper In gridiron football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a Center (gridiron football), center on American football positions#Special teams, special teams whose duty is to Snap (gridiron football), snap the football over a longer distance, ty ...

. 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 ...

Western Washington Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as the area of Washington State west of the Cascade Mountains. This region is home to the state's largest city, Seattle, the state capital, Olympia, and most of the state's residents. ...

after graduating from

Diablo Valley College Diablo Valley College (DVC) is a public community college with campuses in Pleasant Hill and San Ramon in Contra Costa County, California. DVC is one of three public community colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District (along with ...

, and was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

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) in 2007. In between stints with the Seahawks, Overton played for the

Tri-Cities Fever The Tri-Cities Fever was a professional indoor American football, indoor football franchise based in Kennewick, Washington. The Fever joined National Indoor Football League (NIFL) in 2005 as an expansion team. The Fever were owned by Teri Carr. ...

of the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

in 2008 and the

Florida Tuskers Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

of the United Football League in 2009. After his release from the Seahawks in 2010, he rejoined the UFL but as a member of the

Omaha Nighthawks The Omaha Nighthawks were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska, which played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League, joining the league as an expansion team in 2010 UFL season, 2010. During ...

. In 2010, he was named to the UFL's top-10 players list, earning him the recognition as the league's top long snapper. He later played for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

of the NFL. He made the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

with the Colts in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Early life

Overton attended

Tracy High School Tracy High School is a four-year public secondary school located in Tracy, California, United States. Enrollment during the 2009-2010 school year was 2339 students. History The West Side Union High School, renamed Tracy Union High School in 19 ...

Tracy, California Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 93,000 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Tracy is located inside a geographic triangle form ...

where he was a two-way starter for four years for the Bulldogs

team. He earned Lineman of the Year, player of the month, athlete of the month awards, and 2002 SJAA honorable mention honors. Despite these accolades, Overton was not offered any scholarships coming out of high school and opted to attend

, a junior college in

Pleasant Hill, California Pleasant Hill is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 34,613 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It was municipal corporation, incorporated in 19 ...

College career

Overton began his college football career at

. In his time with DVC, Overton earned Special Teams MVP and Team Captain honors. He soon began to receive scholarship offers to 4-year institutions, and accepted an offer to attend

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...

. At Western Washington, he was a team captain and two-year starter at defensive end and long snapper. As the starting defensive end, he recorded over 40 tackles, 5 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble and 7 pass break-ups.

Professional career

Early career

Overton played for the

of the af2 in 2008. He played for the

of the United Football League in 2009 and helped them to an undefeated season and appeared in the first UFL championship. He was re-signed by the

on February 10, 2010. After being released by the Seahawks during training camp, he signed with the

of the UFL for his second season. Overton was named to the UFL top-10 players list in 2010. He was protected by the Nighthawks for the 2011 season.

Indianapolis Colts

On April 3, 2012, Overton signed with the

. Used primarily as a long snapper, he was named to the

. On March 3, 2015, Overton signed a four-year extension with the Colts. The Colts released him on May 1, 2017.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Overton was signed by the

on August 3, 2017, after Carson Tinker suffered a torn ACL. On November 14, 2017, following the team's Week 10 win over the

, Overton was placed on injured reserve with a dislocated shoulder. On October 11, 2018, Overton was re-signed by the Jaguars after Carson Tinker suffered another knee injury. On March 7, 2019, Overton re-signed with the Jaguars. He was released on September 1, 2019.

Los Angeles Chargers (first stint)

On November 15, 2019, Overton was signed by the

, but was released three days later.

Tennessee Titans

On October 12, 2020, Overton was signed to the

practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 7, November 12, and November 21 for the team's weeks 9, 10, and 11 games against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

, and

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. On November 28, 2020, Overton was promoted to the active roster.

Los Angeles Chargers (second stint)

On August 16, 2021, Overton signed with the Chargers.

Los Angeles Rams

On September 13, 2022, Overton signed with the practice squad of the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. He was released on September 20.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 4, 2022, Overton was signed by the

' to the practice squad, to compete with

Tucker Addington. On October 15, 2022, Overton was promoted to the active roster to replace Jake McQuaide, who was lost for the year with a torn left tricep. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

Chicago Bears

On January 3, 2024, Overton was signed to the

practice squad after Patrick Scales was injured. He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent.

Miami Dolphins

On October 19, 2024, Overton was signed to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

practice squad. On October 28, 2024, Overton started as long snapper in the game against the Arizona Cardinals. On November 5, 2024, Overton was released by the Dolphins.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Overton is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. He is married to Breanna Overton. They have two daughters together. Overton runs his own youth charity foundation called Pros 2 Youth and owns and operates a small business with his former Nighthawks teammates

Maurice Clarett Maurice Edward Clarett (born October 29, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Duri ...

and Chad Lucas called Led By Pros. Led By Pros is located in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

and offers a youth football academy and helps young athletes to succeed in life and in sport.

References

External links

Western Washington Vikings bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Overton, Matt 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from San Leandro, California Sportspeople from Tracy, California Players of American football from San Joaquin County, California Players of American football from Alameda County, California American football long snappers American football defensive ends American football linebackers Western Washington Vikings football players Seattle Seahawks players Tri-Cities Fever players Florida Tuskers players Omaha Nighthawks players Indianapolis Colts players Jacksonville Jaguars players Los Angeles Chargers players Tennessee Titans players Los Angeles Rams players Dallas Cowboys players Chicago Bears players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players Tracy High School alumni Miami Dolphins players