After graduating from Upper St. Clair High School in 2004, Kevin Mathews figured his future as an athlete would undoubtedly come on the baseball diamond.

Mathews accepted a scholarship from Indiana University in Bloomington to be an outfielder for the Hoosiers. Those aspirations ended, however, after a redshirt freshman season.

"My family has Steelers season tickets and I came home for a couple games," said Mathews, who set an Upper St. Clair record with a 31-game hitting streak during his high school career. "I found that I really missed Pittsburgh and I really missed playing football.

"I just wasn't having fun playing baseball. I realized that my passion for baseball wasn't as strong as my love of football."

That's when Mathews decided to make a change.

"I wasn't allowed to talk with any other coaches while I was under scholarship at Indiana, so I had my parents talk to some coaches," said Mathews, who eventually chose Washington & Jefferson College.

"W&J has an excellent academic program, a football team that finishes among the top 25 [in Division III] in the country every year, it's close to home, and I had a chance to start right away."

Because he was changing from baseball to football, Mathews, a business administration major, still had four years of eligibility remaining, plus a redshirt year if he needed it. So even though he's a junior academically, he still has two more football seasons of eligibility remaining.

Mathews didn't move into the Presidents' starting lineup immediately, but played a significant role as a backup to Ryan Mendel, a four-year starter at tailback.

Last season, he carried the ball 71 times, gaining 388 yards and scoring a touchdown, and caught 24 passes for 262 yards and four more touchdowns. He also averaged 23.0 yards on 14 kick returns, and 5.6 yards on five punt returns. He finished second on the team in all-purpose yards with 1,000.

"Kevin was the obvious choice to replace Ryan Mendel," said Washington & Jefferson coach Mike Sirianni. "He has a ton of talent and is a threat to break the long one every time he touches the ball. I want to get the ball in his hands as much as possible."

That was evident in Washington & Jefferson's 28-20 season-opening win against Geneva. Mathews accumulated 284 all-purpose yards on only 23 touches. He totaled 114 yards on 16 rushing attempts, 81 yards on two receptions, 74 yards on four kickoff returns and 15 yards on one punt return.

It was more of the same last Saturday in a 50-14 rout of Hanover College of Indiana.

Mathews rushed for 145 yards on just 13 carries and scored one touchdown rushing and another on a 16-yard pass from quarterback Bob Swallow.

He leads the team in rushing and all-purpose yards and is tied with David Ravida for the team lead in scoring with three touchdowns (18 points).

"I love to have the ball in my hands," said Mathews. "It doesn't matter whether I'm running the ball, catching passes or returning kicks. I enjoy being a utility player. I want to help the team out as much I can."

Sirianni found it hard to compare Mathews to other backs he has coached.

"Kevin is unique," said Sirianni. "I don't think we've ever had anybody as quick at the running back position as Kevin. His versatility brings something different to the table."

Mathews showed his knack for breaking the big play in the second quarter against Geneva. He caught a pass from Swallow and rambled 79 yards for a touchdown. The score gave W&J a 14-7 advantage, a lead it would not relinquish.

"I was actually designated as a receiver last year, but [the coaches] felt I was a better fit at running back," said Mathews. "I mostly line up in the backfield, but sometimes I move into the slot."

Mathews was named Presidents' Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against Geneva.

"Kevin has the speed to make a game-changing play every time he touches the ball," said Sirianni.

Mathews has set a couple of goals for this season.

"The most important goal is to win the PAC and make a run for the [NCAA Division III] national championship," said Mathews, who also has a personal goal. "I would like to rush for 1,000 yards."