Spring-Ford quarterback Matt Zollers kept his cool and his recruiting took off

As nicknames go, “Matty Ice” is already taken, but there’s a coolness about Spring-Ford High quarterback Matt Zollers that would likely make something within the cold motif appropriate.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Zollers, the top-rated QB prospect in the state by 247 Sports, committed to Missouri last month.

The legend of his cool amid chaos, though, may have begun when he was an 8-year-old pitcher playing travel baseball.

“It would be bases loaded with two outs and they would put him in,” said Zollers’ mother, Beth, in a telephone interview. “I couldn’t even watch, I’d be so nervous. But he wanted to be there. He’s that kid. He wants to be in that situation.”

Zollers’ poise under pressure seems to have helped him manage varsity minutes as a freshman, remain focused despite slow early days in the recruiting process, and juggle the onslaught of college coaches that eventually followed.

“We’re very proud of him,” said his father, Pete. “It’s been amazing. We never thought a couple years ago that he would be in this position. We knew he was a great athlete and he’s a great kid, but we never thought [the recruiting] would get to these levels.”

At the height of its hysteria, Zollers’ recruitment rushed in like a tsunami.

“One day, I threw for four schools, and they all offered [scholarships],” Zollers said. “Then I got two or three more [offers] during school. Then I had a basketball game, and I got another one after that. So it was like eight or nine in one day. It’s surreal. You don’t really expect that to happen. It doesn’t happen to too many people, so I’m just grateful.”

The early days, however, were more like a spritz.

As a freshman, Zollers watched from the sideline for nearly half of the season before being thrust into the Rams’ rivalry game against Perkiomen Valley, which was ahead by two scores late in the fourth quarter.

It helped that his brother Zach, a junior at the time, walked Zollers onto the field.

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“He was just telling me to calm down,” Zollers said. “That was probably the craziest thing I’ve experienced … being a ninth-grader who never really played varsity because that was one of the first times I had gotten on a varsity field in front of that many people.”

But the king of cool marched the Rams down the field, hitting then-senior Payton West on a slant for a score. The Rams eventually lost, but Zollers split time with then-senior QB Ryan Freed for the rest of the season.

Zollers said Freed became a mentor, which helped since Spring-Ford freshmen are schooled in a separate building than the upperclassmen.

“It was kind of weird having all of my friends play ninth-grade football over there, but I had to walk across the street,” he said. “But it definitely made me more mature.”

Zollers was the starter in his sophomore year, but recruiting interest was sluggish.

He had played baseball during most summers instead of attending camps or playing seven-on-seven football, which these days can accelerate interest from college coaches.

Eventually, his father said, Zollers gave up baseball after struggling with the mechanical differences between pitching and quarterbacking.

Still, even after he fully committed to football, scholarship offers did not materialize.

“It was definitely tough, scrolling on Twitter, seeing everyone else get offers,” Zollers said. “But I kind of just tried to zone it out and scroll past real quick.”

Perhaps it also helped that his head was often buried in schoolwork, a playbook, or game film.

Spring-Ford coach Chad Brubaker, who will be entering his 15th season, said Zollers often logs nearly as much film time as his coaching staff.

Last summer, Old Dominion became the first school to make an offer.

“After that,” Brubaker said, “I thought, ‘OK, here we go. Here it comes.’ And it didn’t really happen.”

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Zollers’ parents weren’t concerned. Perhaps that’s where he gets his cool.

They had experience with Zach, who is a preferred walk-on at Pitt, where he gained 40 pounds to play defensive tackle.

Brubaker said other parents may have fingered a lack of exposure as the culprit.

“They didn’t bat an eye,” he said. “They just trusted the process.”

As did Zollers, who found ways to mimic the proper footwork and throwing motion in any environment.

“I’d be in the kitchen or something and I’d act like I was throwing a football,” he said with a laugh.

The hard work paid off last season after he threw for 320 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for 129 yards and a score against Cumberland Valley.

Brubaker warned that Zollers’ recruitment was about to take off.

“When he said that,” Zollers said, “I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll get some offers,’ but I honestly did not know it was going to happen how it did. I think I finished somewhere in the 20s with offers. But the majority of them, I’d say 12 to 15, came in a week or two in January.”

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Zollers chose Missouri, he said, because he felt the most connected to its players and coaching staff. His final choices included Penn State, Georgia, and Pitt.

Despite the ballyhoo, Zollers’ parents marvel at how their son has managed to keep his cool.

“All his friends and friends’ parents tell us all the time and we see it: He hasn’t changed one bit,” Bethsaid. “It hasn’t gone to his head. He’s literally the same kid, and that’s good to see. I think I’m more proud of that than anything.”