On the second play from scrimmage in their game against the B.C. Lions Friday night, Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ rookie quarterback Jeff Mathews hit Luke Tasker with a pass across the middle that resulted in a 64-yard touchdown.
It was a great play that showed the Mathews’ potential. It also was pretty much the highlight of the night for Mathews and the Tiger-Cats, as Hamilton was drubbed 40-13.
Mathews finished the night completing 22 of 32 passes for 270 yards, a pair of touchdowns and two interceptions.
It’s hard to draw too many conclusions from a game where Hamilton lost two offensive linemen to injury and faced a hungry Lions team battling for their playoff lives. No doubt it’s a game Mathews would rather forget, but it was another step along the road to establishing himself as a CFL quarterback.
“You need to learn from everything,” said Hamilton coach Kent Austin, a former Grey Cup-winning quarterback. “Every experience you have on the field, in life, you have to grow from, especially in that position.
“That’s the only way you can get better as a quarterback is to play in real games and to understand the complexity of each game is going to be different. You may have to come back from a lot of points, you could be up be a lot. It could be a tight game. There can be a lot of scenarios. He’ll grow from that.”
The next test for Mathews comes this weekend when Hamilton (10-6) meets the Ottawa REDBLACKS (10-6) in a showdown for first place in the East.
Mathews took over the starting duties after Zach Collaros suffered a season-ending knee injury in a Sept. 19 game against Edmonton. The 24-year-old from Camarillo, Calif., was suddenly pushed from understudy to center stage. So far he’s handled the limelight with poise.
“You understand it’s an opportunity and you don’t get a whole ton of opportunities,” he said. “We’ve all been through it as a quarterback where you’ve been in situations where you don’t get opportunities.
“So if you get it as a rookie or you get it as a 10-year guy it doesn’t matter. Opportunities are limited, so whenever you are given a chance, you have to take advantage of it and try to be the best you can and help the team win.”
Since taking over as starter Mathews has completed 98 of 142 passes for 1,298 yards, sixth interceptions and six touchdowns. 
At six-foot-four and 224 pounds Mathews has good size and a strong arm. He isn’t the most mobile quarterback, one of the reasons he was sacked five times by the Lions.
One of the things Austin likes about Mathews is his accuracy. In just over four games this year he has a 69 per cent completion ratio. Three of his interceptions came in his first game after Collaros was hurt.
“We kind of feel you are either naturally accurate or you are not,” said Austin. “You can modify that some by fundamental teaching and proper techniques.
“But you can’t coach a guy to innately know when that window is open, to spot a front shoulder or back shoulder. If you’re not naturally accurate, and you don’t have the ability to accurately distribute the football . . . you can’t play at this level.”
Moving to the CFL has introduced Mathews to a longer, wider field, one more man on defence and one less down. While the game has changed, Mathews still believes success depends on him improving his footwork and vision.
“A lot of it has to do with footwork and eye fixes,” he said. “Those two things are very tied together. “If your feet are right . . . you see the right things at the right time.”
A quarterback who plants his feet probably has better vision to find his receivers, said Mathews. It also affects his timing.
“If your feet are too quick it feels like you are waiting too long for things to happen,” he said. “Maybe you see things a little too fast.
“If you are doing a five-step drop, there is a maturity that goes into that drop. You have to understand where your eyes are going to be to see what you need to see to execute that play. If you are too quick or too slow . . . your eyes are not where they need to be. It’s about getting that right timing. When you are on time, good things happen.”
Slotback Terrell Sinkfield has seen Mathews’ confidence grow the more he has played.
“He had a couple of learning experiences in his first couple of games,” chuckled Sinkfield. “I am real proud of him. He’s grown and he is getting better and better. He’s going to be a really good quarterback.”
Sinkfield and Mathews have stayed after practices to work on timing.
“He has a really quick release,” said Sinkfield. “He has a nice, tight ball. It comes hot.
“He’s getting more confidence to fit those balls into tight spaces. We all know he is capable of it and he knows it too.”
Mathews put up some impressive statistics playing four years at Cornell University. In 38 games he completed 901 of 1,447 passes for 11,284 yards and 72 touchdowns.
He spent 2014 on a tour of NFL teams. As an undrafted free agent he spent time with Atlanta, Indianapolis and Arizona before signing with Hamilton in January.
Austin coached Mathews at Cornell. That established a level of trust and confidence between coach and player.
“We have watched him perform in a lot of different situations,” said Austin. “It was at that level, we understand that.
“But we have seen him respond in different environments. We have seen how he prepares, how much it means to him, how much he will dig in when things are not going that well. That experience with the young man can create some level of confidence.”
Mathews said he has a good relationship with Austin.
“We both know what to expect from each other,” he said. “He knows what I bring to the table.
“It also is about growing. Our relationship is different now than it was in college. I’m still growing as a player. It’s different than it has been but it’s also been beneficial for everyone involved with the Ticats.”
