By: Joe Arnold (LancasterEagleGazette.com) —
LANCASTER – Don Matheney knew there had to be a change. Not only was tuition rapidly rising at Holy Cross – the school at which Matheney had just finished his junior football season – but the sport itself had ceased being fun.
So Matheney began looking into transferring back home. He put feelers out at local colleges and universities, hoping to walk on at a program and not fully knowing what to expect.

Then came a conversation with his father during the winter in which the elder Matheney told his son Ohio State was interested.

“I said ‘You’ve got to be kidding,’ ” Don Matheney said. “I was really surprised. I didn’t expect it.”

Matheney enrolled at Ohio State for the spring quarter and walked on to the football team. His biggest adjustment came not on the football field, but rather in the classroom.

“Going from a school with 2,500 students to Ohio State, which is way over that, was different,” Matheney said.

He participated in spring workouts and adjusted to a football learning curve similar to the one he experienced in the classroom.

“I lined up and saw everyone on the offensive line was a giant,” he said. “There were no small linemen.”

Matheney got up to speed in time to participate in the Buckeyes’ spring game. Playing in front of 95,722 fans, a national record, Matheney made his Ohio State debut. He collected a tackle as a member of the Gray team and, in the process, rekindled an old friendship with Jimmy Cordle, a former teammate at Lancaster High School and an Ohio State offensive lineman.

“It was great to run out in front of all those fans,” Matheney said. “It was great to go against Jimmy again. It was like re-living the old days when we used to go against each other at St. on line pharmacy Bernadette’s, Fisher Catholic and then at Lancaster.”

Said Cordle: “I remember we had to run the ball on first down (at the spring game). Don’s a big guy. That was a challenge – to move him.

“It’s great that everything worked out for him.”

If there’s anything Matheney has learned the past three years, it’s the ability to adapt. He broke his leg in a Sept. 22, 2007 game against Georgetown during his sophomore season. The circumstances surrounding the injury were dubious at best. Family and friends were convinced Matheney had been targeted by his opponent.

Matheney missed eight games in 2007 but returned to play in every game in 2008. He finished with 12 solo tackles and seven assists in 24 games at Holy Cross. Matheney, it seems, has bounced back nicely and is back on his feet.

“It’s all you can do when that kind of stuff happens,” he said. “In the end, it might have been the best thing that happened to me.

“But I’m not content yet. I haven’t done anything. I’ll just keep working hard. It feels good to be on the team.”

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