Former Houston high school star to leave college early and enter the NFL Draft

Will Matthew Golden be the star in the NFL that he was at Texas?

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Matthew Golden (2) catches a pass in the fourth quarter as the Texas Longhorns play the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semi-final at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, Jan. 10, 2025. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of the SEC's best pass catchers is going pro. After leading the Texas Longhorns in receiving yards in 2024 and being quarterback Quinn Ewers' main weapon all throughout the year, Matthew Golden is electing to forgo his senior season and enter the 2025 NFL Draft, a decision he revealed to ESPN College Football writer Pete Thamel.

Golden, who starred as a prep player for Klein Cain High School in Houston, Texas, spent the first two seasons of his college career playing for his hometown Houston Cougars before transferring to Texas prior to the start of the 2024 campaign. In his lone season playing for the Longhorns, Golden immediately became an integral part of the receiving core, leading the Longhorns with 58 catches for 987 yards and nine touchdowns while helping guide the team to a spot in the College Football Playoff. Overall, Golden finished the year as the third leading receiver in the entire SEC.

At Houston, a program he committed to right out of high school despite initially committing to TCU, Golden became an immediate starter in his true freshman season and after ending his first college campaign having recorded 38 catches for 584 yards and seven touchdowns, he followed that up with a 38 catch for 404 yards and six touchdown campaign in 2023, stats that he was able to achieve in only nine games. For his strong showing in '23, he was named to the second-team All-Big-12.

At Klein, Golden left having made 167 catches for 3,242 yards and 32 touchdowns while adding 112 yards and four scores on the ground. His best season came during his senior year in 2021, where the six-foot, 195 pound star hauled in 74 catches for 1,416 yards and 12 touchdowns, being the face of an offense that led to a 9-3 finish for the program that year.

Now shifting his focus on getting ready to join the elitest of the elite in the NFL, Golden is eager to prove that despite his relatively short stint in college, he has what it takes to be one of the greats. ESPN NFL Draft insider Mel Kiper Jr. rated as a top-50 prospect and the No. 8 wide receiver overall. But with elite hands and punishing speed, running a 10.93 100-meter dash as a junior, whatever franchise that selects Golden could most likely end up being very pleased with what they get.