Michael Mathison

#4 · WR · Sr. · Western Kentucky5′9″ · 182 lb · Covington, GA · Newton

Michael Mathison: WR · Western Kentucky · #4.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Darius CannonJacksonville State · 2026 · 89% season match
Dalen CobbGeorgia Southern · 2024 · 87% season match
Jaden WilliamsBoston College · 2023 · 73% season match
Christian DremelRutgers · 2024 · 70% season match
Dane PardridgeNorthern Illinois · 2024 · 67% season match

Michael Mathison

WR · Western Kentucky · Sr · #4

Moves the chains on third down. The five seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Tom Arth and Tyson Helton. The first one came in 2021: MAC Special teams Player of the Week. One game to point at: 36 receiving yards and 1 reception against Sam Houston — Week 8, 2024.

Style of play

Play style

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2024	Western Kentucky	13	143	11.0	2	36
2022	Western Kentucky	53	618	11.7	3	55
2021	Western Kentucky	56	706	12.6	3	57
2020	Akron	11	111	10.1	2	26
2019	Akron	31	243	7.8	0	47
Career		164	1,821	11.1	10	57

Season	Team
2024	Western Kentucky	7	34	--	--
2022	Western Kentucky	5	61	463	--
2021	Western Kentucky	1	5	459	18
2020	Akron	1	3	46	--
2019	Akron	2	10	435	--
Career		16	113	1,403	18

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2024 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 2	W 31-0vs Eastern Kentucky	1	8	8.0	0	8
Wk 3	W 49-21@ Middle Tennessee	1	3	3.0	0	3
Wk 5	L 20-21@ Boston College	1	10	10.0	0	10
Wk 7	W 44-17vs UTEP	2	17	8.5	2	14	2 TD catches
Wk 8	W 31-14@ Sam Houston	1	36	36.0	0	36	Season-high 36 yds
Wk 10	W 31-14vs Kennesaw State	1	30	30.0	0	30
Wk 12	L 7-12vs Louisiana Tech	1	7	7.0	0	7
Wk 15	L 12-52@ Jacksonville State	3	17	5.7	0	8
Bowl	L 17-27vs James Madison	2	15	7.5	0	11
Total		13	143	11.0	2	36

Signature game

Week 7 · 2024

W 44-17

vs UTEP

2 rec · 17 yds · 2 TD · 16 rush yds (2 car) · 1 TD

Dominant 27-point win at home against UTEP.

With C. Veltkamp — 264 yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · QBR 72.1 · 29 rush yds (13 car) · 1 TD · E. Messer — 6 rec · 106 yds

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 8 · Sam Houston · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.75Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Michael Mathison for 36 yds to the SHSU 18 for a
Week 7 · UTEP · 2nd and 6 · Q3 · EPA +2.61Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Michael Mathison for 14 yds for a TD (Lucas Carneiro KICK)
Week 7 · UTEP · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.53Michael Mathison run for 12 yds for a TD (Lucas Carneiro KICK)
Week 7 · UTEP · 2nd and 3 · Q4 · EPA +2.21Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Michael Mathison for 3 yds for a TD (Lucas Carneiro KICK)
Week 12 · Louisiana Tech · 4th and 3 · Q3 · EPA +2.05Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Michael Mathison for 7 yds to the LT 29 for a
Week 10 · Kennesaw State · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +1.94Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Michael Mathison for 30 yds to the KENN 30 for a

4 more plays

Week 15 · Jacksonville State · 3rd and 2 · Q2 · EPA +1.68Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Michael Mathison for 8 yds to the WKU 42 for a
Week 1 · James Madison · 2nd and 11 · Q3 · EPA +1.64Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Michael Mathison for 11 yds to the WKU 35 for a
Week 5 · Boston College · 2nd and 6 · Q2 · EPA +0.95Michael Mathison run for 6 yds to the WKU 35 for a
Week 5 · Boston College · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +0.62Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Michael Mathison for 10 yds to the BC 8 for a

Teams and coaches

2019Akron0-12HC: Tom Arth · Pass-leaning, slow tempo

2020Akron1-5HC: Tom Arth · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2021Akron9-5HC: Tyson Helton · Pass-heavy, fast tempo

2022Western Kentucky9-5HC: Tyson Helton · Pass-leaning

2024Western Kentucky8-6HC: Tyson Helton · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 26 (#446 of 466). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score percentiles · 2024 season

26Below cohort / limited sample #446 of 466 · 2024?

7 metrics · season cumulative

2024 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: rush tds (87th percentile). Concern: rec yards (4th percentile).

Box-score rates (7)

Rush TDs#22 / 299 · 87th pct

Rush yards#74 / 299 · 75th pct

Rec TDs#275 / 541 · 41st pct

Long catch#417 / 541 · 22nd pct

Yards / catch#424 / 541 · 21st pct

11.0

Receptions#507 / 541 · 6th pct

Rec yards#520 / 541 · 4th pct

143

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2024, based on box-score rates.

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2024 season · 9 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home4g	1.2	15.5	13.4	0.5
Road4g	1.5	16.5	13.7	0.0

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	1.4	10.6	7.4	0.4
Weeks 8+4g	1.5	22.5	19.7	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2024 season

Head Coach

Tyson Helton

Pass share

52.2%

469 pass / 430 run

Plays / game

64.2

14 games

Team sack rate

5.3%

506 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Awards

Player standing · 2024

13 catches and 7 carries in 9 games

Fewer catches a game than most FBS receivers who play every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

26 · #446 of 466 WRs · 2024

Two-star recruit. Now #446 at the position.

Michael Mathison

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

13 catches and 7 carries in 9 games

Six seasons, two schools

Moves

2019 9 games

2022 14 games