Temple LB Matakevich named freshman All-America

Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich was named Tuesday to the Football Writers Association of America's freshman All-America team.

Matakevich is the 12th Owl in Temple history to earn freshman All-America honors, the first since Bernard Pierce in 2009, and the first to earn first-team honors since Dan Klecko in 1999.

Along with Cincinnati offensive lineman Parker Ehinger, Matakevich is one of just two Big East freshman to make the list headlined by Heisman trophy-winner Johnny Manziel.

"This is truly an amazing feeling, I am so honored," Matakevich said. "I could not have achieved this without the help of my teammates, especially the upperclassmen. It is such an honor to be recognized among the great names of the Temple football tradition. I cant wait to get back to school and get back on the football field.

The All-America nod is just the most recent accolade for Matakevich, who was one of the few bright spots on a Temple defense that finished dead last in the Big East.

The true freshman already received the conference's rookie of the year award and was named second-team Big East all-conference.

After recording just one tackle in his first three games, Matakevich became the first freshman in Temple history to record 100 tackles, with 101. He led the Owls in tackles in every game he started (eight) with an average of 12.5.