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University of Minnesota Athletics
2007 Draft Review - What They Are Saying About Matt Spaeth
4/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
MATT SPAETH
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
3RD ROUND, 77TH OVERALL
Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach
“Anytime you can get a big man that can change the line of scrimmage the way that Matt Spaeth can, who is also capable of getting down the field vertically, has route savviness and probably placed fast in his 40 (yard dash) time, he creates problems for the defense. If you can get in a two-tight end set or multiple tight-end sets, it creates problems because of the number of gaps along the line of scrimmage that you have to defend. He is a talented guy. I am probably more familiar with him than most because of my stay up there in Minnesota, during his senior year. He is just a talented and very impressive football player. When it came time to pick Matt (Spaeth) specifically, he was clearly the highest rated guy on our board. We valued him and thought he was a valuable pick. We thought he was a guy that would be capable of being a good football player regardless of position and that is why we picked him.”
Kevin Colbert, Pittsburgh Steelers Director of Football Operations
“Matt's a big guy. He's got very good hands, and when you watch him run routes he reminds you of a Heath Miller. Good route savvy. Last year, he had a shoulder injury. He injured it in training camp. He fought his way through, re-injured it later in the season and couldn't finish the year, and had to have surgery in the off-season much like Heath did in Heath's last year at Virginia. He was unable to work out until the first week of April. He went to the combine, he wasn't healthy to work out there. We really think that Matt can come in and give us another dimension at tight end.”
Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN
“The big thing with Matt Spaeth is that he can block. He is an extension of your offensive line. He’s 6’ 7”, nearly 270 pounds and his father, Ken Spaeth, was a tight end at Nebraska and was drafted in the fifth round of the 1978 draft. Matt has good hands and he will block very effectively as an in-line blocker. He catches the ball well and runs hard after the catch with some quickness. Now you have a guy who can get the job done blocking and who is very underrated as a receiver. He plays a little faster than his 40 time indicates.”
Gil Brandt, NFL.com
“His father was a player whom the Buffalo Bills drafted. He's a huge target who caught a lot of passes. He played with a shoulder injury last season, then had surgery and missed the bowl game and didn't get to work out until late in the spring. He's big, and there aren't many tight ends.”
Bruce Arians, Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator
What do you like about Matt Spaeth?
BA: He is big, tall and fast. He can block; he is an outstanding, prototypical tight end. At 6'7", he can help stretch the field and he can also handle the point of attack. He gives us good flexibility to take Heath (Miller) and move him around a lot more. I like having three tight ends on the field a lot of times. It gives us a good personnel group, with two tight ends that can stretch the field and all three guys can block the point of attack. He is a very solid guy.
Will this shift the offense away from the I-Back formation?
BA: Well, it gives us that type of flexibility. We have an outstanding fullback and we plan on using him. It gives you more things that can create more problems for the defense, without having to put another receiver in the game. We can have Heath in the slot, Jerame in there and then throw Matt in there. It really gives us a ton of flexibility.
How fast is he?
BA: Fast enough.
Is he more of a wide receiver than tight end?
BA: No, he is pure tight end. He is very similar to Heath. He can stretch the field. I would have to go back and look at it, but I can throw a number out there, maybe a 4.7 or 4.82. He is like Heath, where he can handle those big defensive ends, he can block those outside linebackers and he can also get done the middle. He is a good athlete and can play on all special teams.
Is he 6'8"?
BA: Yeah, 6'7".
Did Spaeth block LaMarr Woodley (the Steelers second-round pick) at all?
BA: Yeah. There's a great shot on his first highlight of him cracking back. He did an unbelievable job in motion cracking back, trying to kill people. It might have been him (Woodley) on that first play. I'm trying to think who he did crack back on. But on his highlight tape, it was the first play.
He had a shoulder injury. Did you check that out?
BA: Oh yeah. That's been well-documented and taken care of. I think, like Heath [Miller], I think he slid because of not being able to work out until late [and] missing most of the combine. And when he did work out, he got back pretty early. I think we got a steal.
A couple of days ago, Kevin Colbert said that in the first round you would not draft a quarterback or a tight end in the first round. What made a tight end so attractive in the third round?
BA: I think this is the time that we wanted one. And this was a guy that we had targeted and really liked. We were ecstatic that he fell to us. We had three names. They were popping off like firecrackers right there and we just held our breath that he'd stay there.
Does he satisfy your pass-catching needs?
BA: Totally.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
3RD ROUND, 77TH OVERALL
Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach
“Anytime you can get a big man that can change the line of scrimmage the way that Matt Spaeth can, who is also capable of getting down the field vertically, has route savviness and probably placed fast in his 40 (yard dash) time, he creates problems for the defense. If you can get in a two-tight end set or multiple tight-end sets, it creates problems because of the number of gaps along the line of scrimmage that you have to defend. He is a talented guy. I am probably more familiar with him than most because of my stay up there in Minnesota, during his senior year. He is just a talented and very impressive football player. When it came time to pick Matt (Spaeth) specifically, he was clearly the highest rated guy on our board. We valued him and thought he was a valuable pick. We thought he was a guy that would be capable of being a good football player regardless of position and that is why we picked him.”
Kevin Colbert, Pittsburgh Steelers Director of Football Operations
“Matt's a big guy. He's got very good hands, and when you watch him run routes he reminds you of a Heath Miller. Good route savvy. Last year, he had a shoulder injury. He injured it in training camp. He fought his way through, re-injured it later in the season and couldn't finish the year, and had to have surgery in the off-season much like Heath did in Heath's last year at Virginia. He was unable to work out until the first week of April. He went to the combine, he wasn't healthy to work out there. We really think that Matt can come in and give us another dimension at tight end.”
Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN
“The big thing with Matt Spaeth is that he can block. He is an extension of your offensive line. He’s 6’ 7”, nearly 270 pounds and his father, Ken Spaeth, was a tight end at Nebraska and was drafted in the fifth round of the 1978 draft. Matt has good hands and he will block very effectively as an in-line blocker. He catches the ball well and runs hard after the catch with some quickness. Now you have a guy who can get the job done blocking and who is very underrated as a receiver. He plays a little faster than his 40 time indicates.”
Gil Brandt, NFL.com
“His father was a player whom the Buffalo Bills drafted. He's a huge target who caught a lot of passes. He played with a shoulder injury last season, then had surgery and missed the bowl game and didn't get to work out until late in the spring. He's big, and there aren't many tight ends.”
Bruce Arians, Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator
What do you like about Matt Spaeth?
BA: He is big, tall and fast. He can block; he is an outstanding, prototypical tight end. At 6'7", he can help stretch the field and he can also handle the point of attack. He gives us good flexibility to take Heath (Miller) and move him around a lot more. I like having three tight ends on the field a lot of times. It gives us a good personnel group, with two tight ends that can stretch the field and all three guys can block the point of attack. He is a very solid guy.
Will this shift the offense away from the I-Back formation?
BA: Well, it gives us that type of flexibility. We have an outstanding fullback and we plan on using him. It gives you more things that can create more problems for the defense, without having to put another receiver in the game. We can have Heath in the slot, Jerame in there and then throw Matt in there. It really gives us a ton of flexibility.
How fast is he?
BA: Fast enough.
Is he more of a wide receiver than tight end?
BA: No, he is pure tight end. He is very similar to Heath. He can stretch the field. I would have to go back and look at it, but I can throw a number out there, maybe a 4.7 or 4.82. He is like Heath, where he can handle those big defensive ends, he can block those outside linebackers and he can also get done the middle. He is a good athlete and can play on all special teams.
Is he 6'8"?
BA: Yeah, 6'7".
Did Spaeth block LaMarr Woodley (the Steelers second-round pick) at all?
BA: Yeah. There's a great shot on his first highlight of him cracking back. He did an unbelievable job in motion cracking back, trying to kill people. It might have been him (Woodley) on that first play. I'm trying to think who he did crack back on. But on his highlight tape, it was the first play.
He had a shoulder injury. Did you check that out?
BA: Oh yeah. That's been well-documented and taken care of. I think, like Heath [Miller], I think he slid because of not being able to work out until late [and] missing most of the combine. And when he did work out, he got back pretty early. I think we got a steal.
A couple of days ago, Kevin Colbert said that in the first round you would not draft a quarterback or a tight end in the first round. What made a tight end so attractive in the third round?
BA: I think this is the time that we wanted one. And this was a guy that we had targeted and really liked. We were ecstatic that he fell to us. We had three names. They were popping off like firecrackers right there and we just held our breath that he'd stay there.
Does he satisfy your pass-catching needs?
BA: Totally.
Players Mentioned
TE
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