MattElam

2016 – Junior

• Played in 11 games with five starts
• Posted a season-high four tackles vs. Southern Miss in the opener
• Did not dress vs. Vanderbilt with injury

2015 – Sophomore

• Played in all 12 games and made four starts
• Finished with 23 tackles, including half a tackle for a loss
• Had six tackles vs. Auburn and UL Lafayette

2014 – Freshman

• Played in all 12 games
• Totaled 10 tackles 
• Top performance came in the win over ULM
• Had a season-high three stops vs. the Warhawks and also deflected a pass which landed in the hands of Josh Forrest, who returned the interception 29 yards for the go-ahead touchdown

High School

• A five-star recruit by 247Sports.com and four-star prospect by Scout and ESPN 
• Rivals ranked him the No. 2 prospect in Kentucky
• 247Sports.com ranked him the No. 13 defensive tackle in the nation and No. 164 prospect in the nation
• Scout rated him the 11th-best defensive tackle prospect in the nation
• Named a MaxPreps 2013 Medium Schools All-American
• Named second-team All-USA by USA Today
• Won the Paul Hornung Award as the Kentucky Player of the Year as a senior, totaling 85 tackles and four quarterback sacks
• First-team all-state by The Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal
• Selected to the “Class of the Commonwealth” team by the Lexington Herald-Leader 
• Played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl
• Had 65 tackles as a sophomore with 19 tackles for loss, four sacks and three fumbles forced
• Helped lead his high school to the semifinals of the 5A state playoffs his sophomore, junior and senior seasons
• Was named first-team all-state by the Associated Press as a sophomore
• Four-year letterman who played every position in the offensive and defensive lines at some point during his career
• Coached by Chad Lewis
• Picked Kentucky over Alabama and Notre Dame, also considered Indiana, Louisville, Ohio State and Tennessee

Personal

• Born in Elizabethtown, Ky.
• Son of Mamie Reed
• Major is communications

Community Cats

• Stayed after practice to spend time with the Special Olympics (2015)

Matt Says

• His nickname is “Big Daddy”
• His sports heroes are LeBron James and Peyton Manning because they are the best in their respective sports
• When he’s not playing football he likes to hang with his friends or go fishing
• His favorite part of game day is walking out of the tunnel before kickoff
• If could trade places with someone for a day he would choose Floyd Mayweather