Ron Mattes became North Carolina A&T’s offensive line coach in 2016 under head coach Rod Broadway. He worked under Sam Washington from 2018-2022 before being retained by Vincent Brown in 2023
During his time at A&T, Mattes has built an offensive line that is one of the best on the Division I-Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level.
Mattes coached the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) offensive lineman of the year for four straight seasons. Left tackle Brandon Parker won the award for two consecutive seasons (2016, 2017) under Mattes. Left guard Micah Shaw won the award in 2018 and left tackle Marcus Pettiford earned the accolade in 2019.
In addition, Dacquari Wilson developed into one of the best centers in FCS football. He earned first-team All-MEAC in 2019 and numerous preseason All-American honors in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced A&T to cancel the season. Wilson was also a preseason All-Big South Conference selection and a first-team postseason selection in 2022.
All five Aggies offensive linemen earned All-Big South honor in 2022. In addition to Wilson, Tairiq Stewart earned first-team honors, and Cesar Minnaro, Korion Sharpe and Ricky Lee III earned second-team honors. In 2022, the Aggies had the No. 1 rushing attack in the Big South and the third-best red zone offense.
The 2019 offensive line helped the Aggies finish No. 1 in the MEAC in total offense, scoring offense, rushing offense, red zone offense and first downs. Nationally, the Aggies ranked in the top-20 in red zone offense, rushing offense, scoring offense and total offense.
Upon his arrival in AggieLand, Mattes immediately impacted the program, producing three All-MEAC offensive linemen in Parker, Daquan Blake, Darriel Mack and Shaw. In the case of Shaw, Mattes took him from being a part-time starter early in his career to being named the 2018 MEAC offensive lineman of the year.
In 2017, Parker earned his third straight first-team All-MEAC honor and MEAC offensive lineman of the year award. Parker became the Oakland Raiders (now Las Vegas Raiders) third-round draft pick in 2017 and a starter for the team in 2018. In addition, Mack was named first-team All-MEAC at center twice, and Pettiford also earned three first-team All-MEAC honors, one at right tackle and two at left tackle.
The Aggies offense allowed the fewest sacks in the MEAC for three straight seasons (2016-18). In 2019, they allowed the second-fewest sacks. In addition, A&T ranked in the top-25 nationally in the fewest sacks allowed for four straight seasons (2016-19).
Mattes’ unit also led the way for the No. 1 rushing offense in the conference in 2016 as Tarik Cohen ran for a single-season school record 1,588 yards and 18 touchdowns. The Aggies also had the best scoring offense in the conference and the 11th-best in the nation in Mattes’ first season.
The following season, the Aggies offense complied 5,122 yards of offense and surrendered only 11 sacks. The Aggies led the MEAC in scoring offense, first downs, third-down conversions and passing offense while ranking second in red zone offense and rushing offense. In addition, they were 13th in the nation in the fewest sacks allowed.
Mattes came to North Carolina A&T after coaching tight ends at Virginia Military Institute for one season (2014). His collegiate coaching career began at James Madison (1995-99), where he was a position coach in several areas during his tenure, including tight ends/tackles, defensive linemen and offensive linemen. He returned to coaching as the offensive line coach for one season (2010) at the University of Virginia, his alma mater.
Over the next three seasons (2011-13), he was an assistant coach at Elon University before his stop at VMI. During his coaching career, Mattes coached and mentored eight players that went on to the NFL, including Parker, Ed Perry, Austin Pasztor, Oday Aboushi, Morgan Moses, Luke Bowanko, Rodney Austin and R.J. Mattes.
Mattes graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology in 1985. In 1984, Mattes helped the Cavaliers defeat Purdue in the Peach Bowl. After leaving UVa. as an All-ACC performer, he embarked on an eight-year NFL career with stints with the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, and Indianapolis Colts.
A native of Ringtown, Pa., Mattes and his wife Susan have three children, Nicole, R.J., and Amber Jo.
