COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Just for grins, there have been times in practice when Kevin Matthews intentionally would grab the jersey of a defensive lineman.
That's when Texas A&M's first-year starting center starts hearing it from his teammates.
Like father, like son? Hardly, they'll say jokingly.
"They say all kinds of things," the Aggies' junior reported. "'That ain't what your dad would do,' or `Your dad would have made that block,' or `That's not something a Matthews does.'
"Stuff like that."
That might be considered one of the drawbacks of being the son of a NFL Hall of Fame lineman. But Chris Matthews wouldn't trade being Bruce Matthews' son for anything.
"I couldn't tell you any drawbacks to it," said Matthews. "The benefits are endless."
Bruce Matthews, who played 19 seasons with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans before retiring in 2001, is Chris Matthews' role model and confidant. But the younger Matthews has enough challenges this season without trying to fill the shoes of his father, a 2007 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
On an offensive line that has struggled with five new starters for the 1-2 Aggies, the younger Matthews is trying to establish himself as the successor to All-Big 12 center Cody Wallace. That is a daunting enough task in itself.
"I'm just trying to make a name for myself," he said. "That's always been my dream."
Matthews, 6 feet, 4 inches and 297 pounds, has made steady progress. He's good at making the calls for the line but must improve his snaps when A&M is in the shotgun formation, because several were low last week for quarterback Jerrod Johnson.
If Matthews is feeling pressure to live up to the standards of his father, whom he calls every day after practice, it's not coming from the A&M coaches.
"If there is (pressure), it's self-imposed," said offensive line coach Jim Turner. "I saw his dad in the spring, and other than the fact that he stands out like a sore thumb because of his size, you'd never know he was as good as he was. He doesn't talk about it.
"He's left the kid to become his own man."
But it's easy to see why there might be some inherent pressure on Chris Matthews simply because of the remarkable family into which he was born.
His grandfather, Clay Matthews, played in the NFL. Both his father and his uncle, Clay Jr., were All-Americans at Southern California who had long and distinguished NFL careers. Two of Clay Jr.'s sons are outstanding college linebackers — Clay III at USC and Kyle at Oregon.
Kevin's younger brother, Jake, is a 6-5, 280-pound junior at Sugar Land Elkins who is drawing much recruiting attention .
"I guess Matthews were just born to play," Kevin said. "We're definitely a football family."
Besides Jake, Kevin Matthews has two other younger brothers — Mikey, a freshman at Elkins, and 8-year-old Luke, who Kevin reports is about 5 feet tall and weighs around 140 pounds.
"He's built like a bear. He's huge for his age," Kevin said. "He's just a hoss."
But Matthews said he plays because he wants to play and enjoys it, not because he feels compelled by his family's history. He noted that his older brother, Steven, didn't play after high school and is now in business after graduating from Baylor.
Bruce Matthews, recovering from knee surgery after being injured while cutting a tree that fell in his yard during Hurricane Ike, has let Kevin find his own way at A&M. While the two talk by phone daily, the elder Matthews works as a volunteer line coach with Jake and Mike at Elkins High, and personally has seen Kevin play only in the Aggies' season-opening loss to Arkansas State.
"My dad always told me, `If you don't like football, don't play. You don't have to do it because I did,'" Kevin said. "If I ever wanted to not play, my dad wouldn't be disappointed. But I want to try and be as good as he was."
For now, though, the Aggies will be happy with Kevin Matthews simply being as good as he personally can be.
"Obviously he had a good handle on football prior to getting to me, based on his situation at home," Turner said. "But he's his own individual and when he's on that field there's no one else out there with him, so he's got to produce. He's making progress."
Randy Riggs writes for the Austin American-Statesman. E-mail: rriggs AT statesman.com.