Ross Matiscik (born September 13, 1996) is an

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

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point at ...

for the

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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at Baylor.

Early years

Matiscik was born in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...

. He grew up in

McKinney, Texas McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano, Texas, Plano and Frisco, Texas, Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about north of Dallas. ...

, and attended

McKinney Boyd High School McKinney Boyd High School (commonly Boyd, Boyd High School, McKinney Boyd, or MBHS) is a public secondary school located on North Lake Forest Drive in McKinney, Texas, United States, that serves ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students. ...

, where he played baseball and football. As a three-year

letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

winner, Matiscik played

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

, especially excelling as a middle linebacker. As a senior, Matiscik was named an all-state linebacker and District 6-6A's Defensive MVP, completing his career with 233 tackles, 12 sacks, 4

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

, and a blocked field goal. Despite this, he was not recruited by any division one teams coming out of high school.

College career

Matiscik was a member of the

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only two private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to jo ...

for five seasons, redshirting as a true freshman and joining the team as a walk-on. During his redshirt year, he was moved to the

position. While he was Baylor's primary long snapper for four seasons, Matiscik also served as a reserve linebacker for the Bears.

Professional career

Matiscik was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent on April 26, 2020. He made the 53-man roster out of training camp, beating out incumbent long snapper Matthew Orzech. Matiscik made his NFL debut on September 13, 2020, in the season opener against 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 20 ...

. On April 29, 2022, Matiscik signed a five-year, $5.965 million contract extension with the Jaguars through the 2026 season. On January 3, 2024, Matiscik was selected to his first

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

. For his efforts in 2023, he was also selected as a member of the All-Pro First Team by the NFL Players Association and the Associated Press.

References

External links

Baylor Bears bio

Jacksonville Jaguars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matiscik, Ross 1996 births Living people American football long snappers Baylor Bears football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Players of American football from McKinney, Texas American Conference Pro Bowl players