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Temple University freshman linebacker Tyler Matakevich will have an opportunity to show the University of Connecticut that they made a mistake by not recruiting him.
A native of Stratford, Connecticut, Matakevich didn't receive any attention from the school while he was helping St. Joseph's High School to consecutive state championships in 2009 and 2010. Despite his head coach, Joe Della Vecchia , calling him the best player in all of Connecticut during those championship runs, UConn contended that Matakevich was not a scholarship player.
The freshman will have an opportunity to show UConn what they missed out on when the Owls travel to East Hartford on Saturday. However, Matakevich remained respectful when discussing the school and expressed his gratitude for Temple giving him a shot, via CSNPhilly.com:
"UConn is definitely the big Division I team around, so growing up that was always a dream school to go to - to play for the state, to represent the state. But I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship at Temple, so I'm just making the best of it here."
Saturday's game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., ET and will be broadcast on ESPN 3.