Meet the Most Interesting High School Football Player in Minnesota: Matthias Algarin

Matthias Algarin is a senior football player for the defending seven-time class 6AAA section champion, Pierz Pioneers. Algarin stands at 5'11" 164 pounds–while being arguably the most versatile player in Minnesota. Algarin has recently committed to Nebraska, as a dual-scholarship athlete, to play football and compete in track for the Cornhuskers. This is a rare distinction that is often only bestowed upon the best athletes in the country. [embed]http://twitter.com/TripleJumpThias/status/1191913420427350016[/embed] His athletic calling arguably comes on the track, where In his junior season of track & field, Matthias showed the entire country how explosive of an athlete he can really be. He appeared in the state tournament, competing in four total events. He finished ninth in the 100m (10.76s/PR), tied for seventh in the 200m (21.70s/PR), and he won the long jump and finished second in the triple jump with distances of (23'10.5"/PR) and (48'10"/PR) respectively. I don't have the proper knowledge to now exactly how special Matthias is as a track athlete, but I do know that finishing in the top 10 in the entire state in four events is utterly RIDICULOUS. According to his father, Matthias is also a two-time Track & Field All-American, having medaled twice at Nationals, in long jump and triple jump.   <hr />   On the gridiron, Matthias is able to showcase his true potential as a versatile athlete. The most ridiculous stat from his senior season, is arguably, the 11.9 yards-per-touch that he averaged in his eight game regular season. When you see a number that large it is usually in part due to a small sample size, or lack of touches, but that is not the case with Matthias. During the regular season the all-state senior, accumulated 83 total touches for 1,362 all purpose yards. So his 11.9 yards per touch is a truly unfathomable number. Matthias' ability to take the ball to the house every time he touches the ball has made him and Pierz nearly unstoppable this season. The class 6AAA section champs have outscored their opponents 551-100, throughout their whole 12 game season. Throughout this season, Matthias has been able to put together some of the best single game performances in the whole state of Minnesota. August 30th vs. Foley: <ul> <li>4 touches, 122 yds, 2 TD’s. 1 PR, 55 yds. (177 total yds) *only played first half*</li> </ul> September 6th vs. Paynesville: <ul> <li>10 touches, 80 rush yds, 82 receiving yds, 2 TD’s. 2 Returns, 41 yds. (203 total yds)</li> </ul> September 13th vs. Rockford: <ul> <li>8 rushes, 105 yds, 3TDs. 3 catches, 58 yds, 1TD. 1 return, 25 yds. (188 total yards, 4 TD’s)</li> </ul> October 11th vs. Melrose: <ul> <li>7 Carries, 157 Yards, 3 TD’s 2 Returns, 63 Yards, 1 TD (9 Touches, 220 Yards, 4 TD’s)</li> </ul> November 1st vs. Albany (section championship): <ul> <li>305 Total Yards & 3 TDs 15 for 128 Rushing (2 TDs) 3 for 61 Receiving (1 TD) 4 for 116 Returns</li> </ul> [embed]http://twitter.com/ChazMootzTV/status/1190488968615342080[/embed]   <hr />   Matthias' has been recruited to play on the offensive side of the ball, but his defensive success should not go under the radar. According to Matthias' father Lou, "He’s a 3 year starter on defense [as a defensive back]." "He plays 100% of the snaps on Defense and Special Teams as well, so the coaches really need to conserve him and don’t want to wear him down on offense." This shows that while being electrifying on offense, Matthias lead Pierz' historically dominant defense that has only allowed a ridiculous 8.3 points per game this season.   [caption id="attachment_11727" align="alignright" width="240"] Mathias Algarin at "The Opening" (Photo: 247sports.com)[/caption] According to Matthias' father, "He [Matthias] makes the defensive adjustments for the team. As a sophomore he was the starting safety for the championship team. He moved up to “specialist” DB last year with specific assignments." This basically means, "Week in and week out they put him on the opponent’s best player and his job is to shut that player down. Whether the kid is a running back, a tight end or a wide receiver. His job is to shut down their best player. It’s been like that for the last 2 years."   Matthias has been able to confirm his dominance on the defensive side of the ball all season. According to Matthias' father Lou, "If you look at the stats. Whoever the best player on the opponents team is, he will be shut down when they play us. Like that Paynesville wide receiver [Levi Blast] had over 200 yards and four touchdowns the week before playing Pierz. Matthias’s job was to shut him down and I believe he ended the game with one catch and 6 yards." Lastly Lou stated, that prior to Matthias committing to Nebraska, Baylor offered him this as a strong safety. He continued saying, "The Baylor coach said he thought he could definitely be an All-American Safety. This should only confirm how dominant Matthias is on both sides of the ball."   <hr />   What I believe that makes Matthias stand out from a normal all-state athlete is his character. His father shared a story with me, of how Matthias still cuts the grass for all four Pierz practice fields with a push mower every week. He’s been doing it since 9th grade. This is usually something you do not see from an athlete that has division-one aspirations. His work in the classroom does not go unnoticed either. According to his father, Matthias has a 4.0+ GPA and he is expected to graduate as the valedictorian in the spring. Lastly, last week Matthias was kind enough to go out of his way, and he sent me a DM on Twitter last week saying that he really appreciates my articles, and I think this just continues with the trend of how special Matthias is as a person and a football player.