2019: He played in a total of 10 games, starting two. Mataia closed the year with nine tackles, a pass broken up, a fumble recovery and three quarterback hurries. He made the first start of his career against Jacksonville State (9/14/19), and had 40 snaps in the game. He had two tackles in four different games, including Lindenwood (9/17/19) when he had a half-sack. Two of his quarterback hurries came versus Sacramento State (10/5/19). In EWU’s three scrimmages in the spring, including the Red-White Game, Mataia had nine tackles with three sacks.
2018: Did not play in EWU’s first 14 games, but saw action in the NCAA Division I Championship game against North Dakota State (1/5/19).
2017: Played in all 11 Eastern games as a backup nose tackle. He had 16 tackles in his Eagle debut season, with a high of three against Southern Utah (10/21/17).
2016: Redshirted. Was selected as the team’s defensive scout team player of the week once.
HS: Graduated from Evergreen HS in 2016. Played just one season of high school football, and played on both the offensive and defensive lines.
Personal: Criminal justice major. Born 5/19/98 in Orange, Calif. Parents are Malia and Rudolph Mataia. Nickname is “J.R.” and he went by Jay-R in high school. Last name is pronounced “muh-tay-ah.”
| Year |
GP |
TT |
Hi |
S |
TL-Yds |
FF-FR |
PBU |
I-Yds |
| 2017 |
11 |
16 |
3 |
0 |
2-1 |
0-0 |
0 |
0-0 |
| 2018 |
1 |
0 |
-- |
0 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
0-0 |
| 2019 |
10 |
9 |
2 |
0.5 |
2-9 |
0-1 |
1 |
0-0 |
| Totals |
22 |
25 |
3 |
0.5 |
4-10 |
0-1 |
1 |
0-0 |
