Delayed arrival not deterring Matthews

AUBURN | Octavius Matthews will transfer to Auburn, but it will be later than he originally planned.

The athlete/running back from Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Miss., had hoped to be a mid-year transfer. Matthews hoped he’d be at Auburn in January.

“I couldn’t get it to work out,” Matthews said. “But I’ll be there in the summer.”

Matthews was in Auburn on an official visit last weekend. He had the chance to meet with Auburn running backs coach Tim Horton, who also is Matthews’ lead recruiter. The two talked about Matthews’ new timeline for arrival, as well as how Auburn plans to use Matthews when he arrives.

Matthews, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 200 pounds, has elite speed. He averaged 7.2 yards per carry this season at Itawamba, rushing for 645 yards and five touchdowns on 90 attempts. Matthews also has great hands out of the backfield -- he caught 15 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns.

Horton plans to utilize both aspects of Matthews’ game at Auburn.

“(Horton) said I would be a running back, but he’d also like to use me out at the slot (receiver) position,” Matthews said. “He wants to get me the ball in the open field with sweeps and screens.”

Matthews was joined on the visit by his uncle and cousin. The trio arrived Friday and stayed until Sunday. Freshman running back Kam Martin served as Matthews’ player host.

“We had a great time,” Matthews said. “We went to the athletic banquet and ate some really good food. I had a blast and I can’t wait to get back down there.”

Matthews plans to leave Itawamba after the spring semester and report to Auburn in the summer. He is very confident in his commitment to the Tigers, but isn’t ruling out taking two more visits.

“I might take a visit to Louisville and one to Western Kentucky,” Matthews said. “Those will be in January and will be my last two visits. But I still feel very good about Auburn.”