An injury stole Matthew Goncalves' senior year, but he used it to better himself ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft

This year's offensive tackle class has a lot of talented players, but a player that too many people are sleeping on is Matthew Goncalves out of Pittsburgh. 

Goncalves began his college career in 2019, where he redshirted at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2020, as a redshirt freshman, he was named a Freshman All-American and started the final three games for the Panthers. His sophomore season in 2021, he started five games, all at right tackle. In 2022, during his junior season, he started all 13 of the team's games for the first (and only time of his college career), with eight starts coming at right tackle and five coming at left. He would earn a Third Team All-ACC honor for his performance in 2022. 

All of that led to last season, Goncalves' senior year, where he opened up as the team's day-one starting left tackle and was named a team captain for Pittsburgh. Teams across the NFL had high expectations and grades for the talented offensive lineman ahead of his senior year. During the first three games of the season, he lived up to that hype, allowing just three QB hurries, one QB hit, and zero sacks.  A year that seemed to be on pace to prove NFL teams right, with a promising start, would tragically be ended after just three games due to a foot injury that would require season-ending surgery. 

I had the privilege of speaking one-on-one with Goncalves about having to spend his final college season on the sidelines, his draft process, and more. 

Q: During your time at Pitt (Pittsburgh), you split time at both Right and Left tackle; now that you are making the jump to the NFL, is there a side you prefer to play? 

Goncalves: "When I first came into college, I was predominantly a left tackle, all I knew was the left side and then my offensive line coach Dave Borbely; he moves everybody around; he moved me to right tackle, and its something that I got really comfortable with it, and I'd say the right side is probably my more natural spot as of right now. But if I have the ability to practice and take a lot of reps on the left side, and really work on my craft there, I could see myself being able to flip back and forth. I don't see any problems playing on either side."

Q: During your freshman year you allowed three sacks, but you didn't allow another sack the rest of your college career. Can you speak on your ability in pass protection and how it improved over your college career? 

Goncalves: "For sure, I mean, the more you play, the more experience you get dropping back in protection, and it can be nerve-racking going out there and thinking about the possibility of a guy getting around you, but you know, like I said the more snaps that you play, the more experience that you gain and you see more tendencies out there. And I'll say at the University of Pitt, our defensive line they got us ready day in and day out. They get you ready to go out there and play in other competitions. And once we do, it's nothing compared to what we have to face in practice at the University of Pittsburgh, so I give a lot of credit to our defensive line coach and our defensive line players."

Q: Now, getting into your injury last season and having to spend most of your senior year sidelined. How did you deal with your college send-off being taken from you, and how did it affect you mentally? 

Goncalves: "It was really rough for me. I mean, not being able to play football for the first time in 4 to 5 years was brutal. But I still did everything I could to help all my teammates and the young guys starting on the offensive line. It also proved to me that I can't live without football. It's something that I want to do for the next 10-20 years. I need football in my life; it's a part of me." 

Q: Do you feel your experience of figuring out a way to make an impact without being on the field last season will help you heading into the NFL, where it's possible that you may spend time as a bench player early in your career? 

Goncalves: "For sure, I mean, there's a chance that I have to sit behind somebody and do my fair share of watching and learning on the sideline kind of like what I did this last year, so in a way, it kind of helped me. I learned how to be lead even when I'm not on the field, And it taught me multiple lessons on how to learn and improve myself and my game by watching others and listening to those around me. I know there's a chance that wherever I land, I could have to sit behind someone for a few years, and I think I'm better prepared for how to use that time wisely and also know that there's still a future opportunity down the road that I'll be preparing for."

Q: Now that you have experienced the draft process, is there anything that has been eye-opening for you or different than what you expected? 

Goncalves: "I'd say coming from being one of the best tackles in the ACC to being a guy who likely won't be taken until day two or even day three of the draft took quite the adjustment. You aren't just going to automatically be one of the top guys here just because you were in college. You have to work your way up there as well." 

Follow-up Q: You mentioned being a player projected to be drafted in the middle of the draft. When comparing yourself to other players in this talented tackle class, what do you think helps you stand out? 

Goncalves: "I'd say it's my versatilely, I mean having the ability to go from right side to the left or even sliding inside to guard. I played my fair share of guard, and I even spent a week at center where I felt very comfortable. I feel like I've proven that I have a good feel for all five positions. I think that versatility helps me stand out from other players who predominantly only play one position."

Q: So, with you coming off a season-ending injury, a solid portion of your draft cycle will be teams trying to figure out where you are health-wise today. But once a team team drafts you do you feel healthy and ready to compete when training camp rolls around? 

Goncalves: "Yeah, no doubt it was a long, grueling process. As minor as a tow injury may seem, it has a big effect on you, especially as an offensive lineman. But I've been running, and I've been doing some offensive line drills. We've been doing a lot of conditioning a lot of 5-10-5, and 40 stuff so I've been all cleared to do that so I feel really good. Still needs a little bit more work. It's a work in progress, but by the time camp hits, I plan to be fully healthy."