Dru Mathis Looking to End Football Career on a High Note

The Ducks veteran linebacker is awaiting a career in law enforcement following his final college football season in 2021.

Few players on the Oregon roster have played college football as long as linebacker Dru Mathis. He committed to San Diego State prior to the 2016 season after a solid career at Buena High School in Ventura, Calif.

He utilized a redshirt in his freshman season and transferred to Moorpark College, 30 miles east from his hometown of Ventura. Mathis became the top-rated linebacker prospect at the JUCO level after two seasons at Moorpark, and he gathered a number of Division 1 offers, including Oregon.

Now entering his third and final season with the Ducks at the age of 23, Mathis is one of the leaders in a linebacker room loaded with youth.

"Being that older cat, I like to help them out whenever they need help," he said. "I like to take all of them under my wing and teach them the basics — not just football, but how to act in the classroom."

Leadership comes naturally for Mathis, who is preparing for a career as a police officer after football. He has taken ride-alongs with Eugene Police Department, Springfield Police Department, and the Lane County Sheriff's department, and he has interned with the University of Oregon Police Department this summer.

Mathis has dreamed of being a police officer since he was a child and has taken many steps to make that a reality.

"Being a cop is something I've wanted to do for a very long time," he said. "I think that the world deserves good cops, and I think that's what I can offer to the community.

"I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else in life. It's something I'm so set on. It's something I'm going to do. I'm going to be an officer."

Mathis' older brother, Kendrick, is also involved with law enforcement in Los Angeles. Kendrick played football at San Diego State and has given Dru some invaluable advice going into the 2021 season.

"He doesn't want me to miss out on anything, so he kinda reminds me to stay focused on football," Mathis said of his brother. "Whenever I talk to him, he's like 'bro, law enforcement is always going to be there. You just need to really focus on football, because football is not always going to be there, so you really need to give it your all.'"

Football is there for Mathis for one last season, and he is enjoying learning the new defense and working with the young backers.

"Coach Tim DeRuyter is doing a great job. Coach Ken Wilson and all the defensive coaches are doing a great job right now making the defense more simple so we can play fast and make plays."

Mathis has mostly played at the heart of the defense as a MIKE linebacker, but he has also learned to play at the WILL position on the weak side of DeRuyter's defense.

"MIKE feels a little bit better to me only because I've been playing it this whole time," he said. "But I'm learning WILL pretty fast, and it's not bad right now. Whenever I go in at WILL, I'm usually with Noah Sewell, so him and I being able to communicate and talk in between reps is making it a lot easier for me."

Along with Sewell, the Ducks have a lot of young talent at inside linebacker, including Justin Flowe, Keith Brown, Jackson LaDuke, TJ Gilbert, and Terrell Tilmon. With Isaac Slade-Matautia transferring, Mathis and Nate Heaukulani will be the veterans in the middle.

Mathis is dedicated to finishing out his football career as well as beginning his journey in law enforcement, and he wants to go out on top before he serves the community as a police officer.

"I just want to end on a great note," he said. "I want to be able to go out there and produce, help my team, fly around, make some plays, get sweaty and feel sore the next day. Go back at it the next day and keep practicing and have a great season with my team."

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