Fred Matua

Fred Matua
No. 67, 53
Position	Guard
Personal information
Born	January 14, 1984; Wilmington, California, U.S.
Died	August 5, 2012 (aged 28)
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	310 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school	Wilmington (CA) Banning
College	Southern California
NFL draft	2006: 7th round, 217th overall pick
Career history
	Detroit Lions (2006); Tennessee Titans (2006); Cleveland Browns (2006); Tennessee Titans (2007); Washington Redskins (2008); Florida Tuskers (2009); Omaha Nighthawks (2010)*; Florida Tuskers (2010);
	* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Awards and highlights
	Second-team All-Pac-10 (2005);

Fred Matua (January 14, 1984 – August 5, 2012) was an American football guard. After playing college football for Southern California, he was selected by the Detroit Lions in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL draft.^[1] He was also a member of the Lions, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, Florida Tuskers, and Omaha Nighthawks.

Early life

Born in Wilmington, California, Matua prepped at Banning High School in Wilmington, California where he won the 2000 LA City 4A Championship his junior year.^[2]^[3]

While playing college football for the USC Trojans, Matua was an All-American guard in 2005.

Pre-draft measurables
Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 2+3⁄8 in (1.89 m)	306 lb (139 kg)	31+5⁄8 in (0.80 m)	9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m)	5.00 s	4.76 s	7.87 s	31.0 in (0.79 m)	8 ft 7 in (2.62 m)	28 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day^[4]

Matua was selected on the second day by the National Football League's Detroit Lions but was cut by the team and was signed to the Tennessee Titans practice squad. On October 28, 2006, he was signed to the Cleveland Browns roster.

Matua was signed by the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League on September 3, 2009.^[5]

On August 5, 2012, Matua died at the age of 28 of a heart-related issue.^[3]

^ "2006 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
^ Garry Paskwietz (August 6, 2012). "Ex-Trojans OL Fred Matua, 28, dies". ESPN. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
^ ^a ^b 5 August 2012 (August 5, 2012). "Former USC lineman Fred Matua dies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 12, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "Fred Matua Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
^ "Florida Tuskers Announce Signing Of 11 Additional Players Including Koren Robinson & Tatum Bell". OurSports Central. September 3, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2011.