Michigan State football: Catching up with Matt Seybert, Part 1

Former Michigan State football tight end Matt Seybert is starting a streaming career now, but what made him fall in love with the Spartans?

I wanted to write this article differently than others I have in the past because I was recently presented with a unique opportunity. As a first for me at Spartan Shadows, I was lucky enough to get the chance to sit down and chat with former Michigan State football tight end Matt Seybert for a couple of hours. In doing so, we talked about life, his football journey, his time in East Lansing, and much more.

I’m really excited for you guys to get to know Matt a little bit more. A special shout out to him again for taking the time to talk and allowing me to share his story. I am extremely grateful.

Without further ado, here is part one of my chat with Seybert. This part will cover his early years through his time at MSU. Part two will be coming soon, covering his post-Michigan State football journey, his new streaming aspirations, and more.

Let’s start with a basic first question: I know we’ve sort have talked about it before, you’re originally from Traverse City, correct?

Yep, I am from Traverse City. The pros of living there. (Jokingly) No. 1 pro is grit. Because you’ve got to deal with the negative 45-degree wind chill and such. But honestly, obviously the water was one of our favorite parts of growing up. Being able to go fish and also not having to deal with sharks. That’s nice for me because I hate sharks.

I also got to go to a school where Michigan State was the spot cause of the Bulloughs and stuff (referring to St. Francis High School where Max and Riley Bullough also attended).

Obviously they’re big with Michigan State. I got to look up to them. I was in middle school when Max was playing middle linebacker for MSU. Seeing someone from your school that you’ve seen in person is now playing on national TV in front of everyone. It kind of helped give me the motivation and a realistic vision to want to do this, too. It was really cool to witness that and see that — be a part of that. So it really helped me chase my dream.

The cons? Or a con I would say is that I wish the talent of football up in Northern Michigan was better. It’s Division 6 or 7 football. You aren’t facing the best talent. So it’s even harder to bring in offers obviously. Even to get something like a MAC offer, it takes a lot. I know back in the day they used to do this but if Traverse City just had one high school, I feel like we would be able to keep up and compete with Division 1 and 2 schools. When Max and Riley were in high school, my brother was on a team with Riley in like 2013 or 2014. They were beating teams like 70-3 every week. It was crazy.

What originally got you interested in football when you were young?

My dad coached Pop Warner growing up. My brother is four years older than me so I was the water boy for his team and I always grew up around it. We just played a bunch of backyard football so I’d pretend to be playing in the Super Bowl or national championship. I just fell in love with it and sports in general. Also the video games. They had a big impact on me because I loved to play them and I started learning the rules of sports from them.

Was football always your favorite sport/first love?

We used to always make rinks in the backyard for hockey. Baseball, basketball, hockey, and football were my sports growing up. I had to eventually choose between basketball and hockey when I got to high school or middle school. I chose basketball because we thought the footwork aspect would help me because we knew I had a real shot in football so we tried to make the best decision for my athletic side. Hockey would have been so fun. I wasn’t always super athletic. I was an un-athletic, ginger kid but I grew into a pretty athletic frame so I feel like a 6-foot-4 defenseman would have been awesome. Also, I feel like I could move well. I’d be an enforcer.

Was there any specific athlete, football or not, you watched a lot growing up?

Yeah, Miguel Cabrera was the big one. That’s the one that sticks with me the most. I’m not sure why this one sticks with me as much but with baseball, Pudge Rodriguez when I was a kid. It just gives me the nostalgia from when the Tigers were really good. Of course then Calvin Johnson. I’ll never forget watching him and having snow in his mask. My favorite growing up though was either Nick Kronwall or Brett Hull. I loved Brett Hull for some reason. I loved watching Brett take slap shots and Kronwall’s style of hitting. Just turning his back to people and laying them out. Those are two that come to mind.

What was your recruitment like?

My recruitment was interesting. It started like freshman/sophomore year of high school. My dad and I would take trips to camps to get my name out there. I was dreaming big. I wanted to play Power Five.

We started out going to a Michigan State camp. I don’t know how accurate it was but they clocked it and I ran the fastest 40 of my life there. I ran a 4.6 at that MSU camp. Coach D and (Mike) Tressell liked that. I had a good camp at MSU. I went to Iowa next and did well at a camp there. They started to contact me then. That’s when I started to realize I could really play Power Five.

Then I went down to Missouri. I killed it at the camp. They had me run with the scholarship players. But then I ended up running a 4.9 at that camp and that kind of was a big turn-off for the SEC coaches.

Then we flew out to Syracuse. Did a camp there. All these teams were contacting me consistently junior year. Buffalo and EMU were the only schools that offered me quick.

Most of the Big Ten schools were interested but wanted to come evaluate me in person on games my senior year. They all had plans to come but then I broke my navicular bone in my right foot and ankle and I had to get a screw put in it cause that’s just an injury that will not heal. So I was out my entire senior year. I committed to Buffalo before I told anyone so I didn’t lose my commitment.

So that was the hardest year of my life because I was so excited for that senior year. I was going to be playing middle linebacker as well as tight end so I was pretty disappointed. That was my biggest mental hurdle. I took the Buffalo scholarship but then I realized that wasn’t the dream. There was just a spot of people in the stands and nothing like Big Ten football. I still love Buffalo. I still love UB to this day but it was just not what I wanted. Then I asked my parents if they supported my walk-on idea. So I took a risk. I gave up my scholarship. Transferred to MSU. I got into fall camp there on like day five. I went there and didn’t look back. Just went hard every day.

Once you got to East Lansing, what was the biggest change from life at Buffalo or in general? Did it take a while to acclimate or did you fit right in with Spartan life?

Football. I’m going to be honest. We were not even really taught football knowledge in high school. No shots against anyone. The knowledge wasn’t even close to what I was having to learn (with Michigan State football). I couldn’t read a defensive line front. Like nine-technique or three-technique. I was just lost. I ended up learning football a lot from my tight ends coach, Coach (Jim) Bollman. Coach (Mark) Staten, too. I switched to defensive end in 2017-18 at MSU. That helped me learn football way more from the defensive side in college. Going back to tight end, I knew exactly what a defense was trying to do. So definitely a learning curve.

Then on the campus side, East Lansing is the true college campus. You’ve got lines at Harper’s on a Wednesday night backed up. That’s not happening in Buffalo.

What was your favorite thing about playing under Coach D?

The team meetings were my favorite part with Coach D. So many funny moments. So many serious moments that weren’t supposed to be funny but were anyways. I get a lot of good memories from team meetings with Coach D. But also I remember when I first got there. Hearing Coach D speak with the team for the first time. It gives me goosebumps now. Being in that meeting room and listening to a legend talk. Thinking this guy deserves a statue. So it was definitely that and being able to learn and hear the motivational stuff from a Rose Bowl champion, a Big Ten champion.

Who were some of the guys you were closest to while in East Lansing?

One of my best friends there was Mufi Hunt from Utah. He ended up being my best bud there. We hung out every day and were on scout team together. Another guy was DeAri Todd. He’s been in the (Twitch) stream. He’s from Ohio. Really good kid. Spent a lot of time on scout team together. We were really bonded through scout team together going against the starters and fighting for our lives. Really struggling. Guys like that. Naquan Jones was my roommate freshman year. He was my suitemate at Case Hall. We stayed connected. He was actually just at my wedding. I’m going to go out and see his preseason game out here next week when they’re in town against the Cardinals. So that will be fun. Unfortunately, I’ve lost contact with some guys. I do talk to (Brian) Lewerke all the time. That’s my quarterback forever.

Who was the funniest guy in the locker rooms during your time in EL?

Entire career, the funniest guy was probably Riley Bullough. I think he takes the crown for funniest teammate of all time. I only was with him one year. After he was gone, I’d say Kenny (Willekes). Kenny Willekes is pretty funny. I’d think he’d be the next funniest.

What’s one thing you think the average college student or fan doesn’t know about D1 athletes at MSU?

The workouts. The early work sounds generic but it’s actually horrible. You’re waking up at like 4:30 a.m. and Coach (Ken) Mannie would have some of us working until we puked. So then you finish up. Now I’m going to class in a blizzard and I feel like I’m going to throw up while in class. Then on top of that, you have more workouts, class, spring ball, meetings, practice.

People also don’t realize you have mandatory study hall hours after. So you have to go to the Smith Center or wherever and you have to spend mandatory hours there. You complete a certain amount of schoolwork before going home. It is way more than football. It’s an absurd amount. I wasn’t getting home until like 10:30 p.m. then you go to bed and do it all again. You also have to make sure you’re doing well in school, too. People don’t realize that we have GA coaches whose job it is to go into lecture halls and classes and make sure you are there. If you aren’t there, they’re going to to call you or text you and you can’t lie cause you aren’t there.

If one person doesn’t show up to class — just one person — out of like the 100 on the roster. If one doesn’t show up, we all get punished. So you really can’t be like, “I don’t feel good. I’m not going to class.”

What makes the Michigan/Michigan State rivalry so special? Have you been a part of any rivalry elsewhere that’s close to it?

I have not seen anything like it personally. If I had to describe it, you can literally feel it. There are not many things like that you can literally feel but that’s one. It gives me goosebumps. The fact that we’re 45 minutes away from each other. It’s extremely personal. The fact that they think they’re better than us just because of their name and nothing else. That’s the stuff that makes me and a lot of Spartans mad is the arrogance. They just think they’re better at a lot of stuff. Not just sports. As people. I know that’s not true for everyone on their side but it is for a lot of them and the Walmart Wolverines.

What was the most memorable game from your Michigan State football career?

The most memorable game for me has got to be that Penn State game on the road in 2018 when we got ’em and they were a top-10 team. That was the one that was special. Before that game, I’m going to be honest I was never really the type of guy to go out or drink. I didn’t go out to the bars because I was always so locked in. Almost to the point where it was too much. I didn’t hardly have any fun before that. When we won, my buddy was telling me, “You gotta come out, we just did something special.”

We were all at FieldHouse and it was my first night out in East Lansing. Gosh, it gives me goosebumps cause it was so fun. To be a part of something so special where you come together and accomplish something so hard. It was a fun night.


What’s it like going to a bowl game?

Yeah, bowl games are crazy. It’s ironic because really it’s one of the most important games of a team’s season depending on what game you’re in. Personally, I think Michigan is the most important but a bowl game is the goal. You set out to win a postseason game and then you go there for a week and there are nothing but distractions everywhere. You have team activities. You’re on vacation at a nice hotel if you’re in a nice destination or resort area. Like in San Diego for the Holiday Bowl. But you’re just surrounded by distractions while you’re getting ready to go play a huge game.

Then the bowl gifts are overwhelming amounts of nice stuff you get. It’s an experience for sure.
You definitely get some guys that are on a Thursday letting it rip all week and then playing Saturday. It’s a crazy time. Bowl games are crazy.

If you had to narrow it down, who are one or two of the more underrated teammates in your career?

Oh yeah, I got probably endless answers for this. The first name that comes to my mind, and I don’t know if he’s underrated for Spartan Nation’s eyes, is Felton Davis. Unfortunately, he had the injury late in his college career but gosh, he’s a guy that it makes me so mad he is not in the NFL right now. I know he’s been training hard still. He just got signed to a UFL deal which is great to see him get the opportunity. But I’ve never seen someone so dominant. Like even if you’re covered, you’re not covered with him. It’s his ball. He was so good. It’s literally what you want in the NFL.

Ever since his injury, I feel like he was just completely overlooked and not given the chance he deserves.

There are a bunch more guys I shared scout team with cause they could play some good ball. There’s just so many to name. Felton was good. He and D-Stew, Darrell Stewart. He’s over playing in Germany right now. He was another guy that was just an absolute dawg. I’m surprised he didn’t get more of an NFL shot.

Describe the feeling from going to walk on in 2017 to earning a scholarship in 2019.

That was an insane moment. I got the scholarship in spring ball before my senior season. It was a crazy feeling because it took longer than I thought. Obviously my goal was to transfer and come in and get it as soon as possible. Get in there and get it within a year or two but it was hard. I was coming in and deep in a depth chart of tight ends and then defensive ends. I was kind of feeling a little bit lost and feeling a little bit regretful cause you know you see guys going to like a MAC school that go to the NFL all the time.

At the end of the day, the NFL is important. So when I got my scholarship, it felt worth it and validating and made me feel like I was good enough to be here. It was a top three best day of my life, for sure.

If you could hit up FieldHouse and have some adult beverages with three Spartans, who would they be?

Oh, OK. That’s a good question. An important one. I would say Draymond Green for one. I would for sure like to go have some drinks with him. The Spartan Dawg legend. Just a fun dude in general.

This one’s funny, I actually went to Rick’s one time with Le’veon Bell after a game, I can’t remember which one. He came back for a game. He let me wear some of his jewelry that night. So I would like to go out with Le’veon. He was a cool dude.

Then, I gotta say, this is hard. Probably Coach (Tom) Izzo. He always intrigued me. I didn’t know him to the point where we’d sit down and talk but I’d see him around campus or in front of study hall. He’d just come up and say, “Hey Matt, how’s it going?” Like, I don’t know how you know my name. There are so many athletes on campus and around and I’m just a normal guy. That’s why I feel Michigan State is different. This guy knows my name because I’m a Spartan. I love that.

Did you guys do anything with the basketball team ever?

We didn’t do a lot. They would let us use their facility during fall camp. One day during camp we would have a basketball day for the football team and we’d go in and have a dunk contest and stuff. Some of the guys would obviously be friends with them from other things. But we’d occasionally go to like Lou-Ha’s with them and we’d have fun. So we’d see them a good amount.

What would have been different about your college career if you were playing now in the NIL and portal era?

For me, I would have for sure used the portal. Personally, I hate the transfer portal. I wouldn’t have used it because I was running from a problem. It would have been me using it to chase my dream. I wasn’t running because of a lack of playing time or anything. It would have been nice so I wouldn’t have had to sit out a year and then be taken more seriously my freshman year at MSU. I feel like being ineligible and being a walk-on was like putting you at the bottom. He can’t play, he’s a walk-on. We aren’t even going to evaluate him right now. He’s just here. That’s how I felt. Other than that I don’t think anything would have changed much.


If you were playing now, what would be your ideal NIL deal? Is there a specific sponsorship you’d like? 


Something with like shampoo or conditioner. Head and Shoulders. That would have been nice to have. Something like that. I would have aimed for that for sure.

What’d be one piece of advice you’d give to incoming college players in regards to NIL and such?

I would just say entering college, who you surround yourself with is the biggest thing. For one thing, it’s going to keep you going towards where you want to be at the end of your four years. Like that’s the main thing you remember is like the people you were with. You don’t always remember all the hard stuff. You do, but it’s not the main focus.

That’s something Coach D always would tell us that it’s always about the people wherever you go. Any situation can be made enjoyable if you’ve got the right people around you. Any job can be made enjoyable if the right people are there. Vice versa you could be making millions of dollars but if you got the wrong people there, you can be just miserable. It’s always about the people. So focus on the people around you and that’s what is most important. I was always about hard work, and staying focused. I mean that is important. Now that I’m a little more wise, it’s more about the people.

As for the portal, just don’t use it. It’s easy for me to say because I’m not involved with that anymore, but gosh. Just running away from your problems or hard times when something goes wrong is not going to work out well when you’re older. If I’m ever a coach later on, I’m not going to be looking for a guy who’s running away from a problem.

It’s sad because the portal can really be used well and you could really make an elite team from it. I know I’d be too stubborn about it. I’d probably lose my job. It makes it feel like a professional sport with the portal.

As a former Spartan player, what’s one thing you hope the current staff focuses on? Or maybe a tradition they keep or build on?

Oh yeah. That’s a good question. That’s a big thing I worry about with the transfer portal actually cause it makes it hard to build a culture cause you have guys coming and going so quickly and at any year.

One thing I would like to stay in the building. Coach Mannie and Coach D would always say you have to do something each day to beat Michigan. What’s one thing today you’ve done to beat Michigan? I want that mentality of the hate — the real fiery hate for Michigan to stay there and not let it just become some in-state rivalry.

I know Coach (Jonathan) Smith is not one that’s going to go talk crazy on an interview or something but when he was asked about that, he said, “Oh they’ll be ready.” And that’s good. But I really do love Coach D’s famous interview. It gives me goosebumps all the time thinking about it but it really is that big of a deal. Obviously, you want to treat every game like it’s the most important but that game is the most important one and I just hope that stays within the (Michigan State football) program.