He's one of Delaware's top quarterbacks. But he still has plenty to prove.

Most young quarterbacks Rahsaan Matthews Sr. sees struggle with footwork. Young passers should build from the ground up, he says. Arm strength can and will come later.

So there was Rahsaan Matthews Jr. to the side of Howard Vo-Tech's 50-yard practice field off East 11th Street on a blue-skied Wednesday afternoon dropping back against an invisible front with a football in his palms.

"Left, right, sprint," Matthews Sr. instructed. "Right, left, right, sprint."

His son, who goes by RJ, responded in an instant, passing the quarterback's version of Simon says.

This is how Wednesdays often go — Howard's midweek practice is reserved for the defense's install. It gives father and son, err offensive coordinator and quarterback, extra time to drill fundamentals. RJ knows it's this foundation that allows him to extend plays and fill his highlight reel on Fridays and Saturdays.

He's been doing that a lot lately. In what could be his final home game as a Howard Wildcat, Matthews threw for 434 yards and 7 touchdowns Friday night against Mount Pleasant. It's a fair debate whether that was even his most impressive performance of the season. In September, he had another 7-touchdown game in a 60-22 win over Woodbridge, a likely playoff team.

"He's doing some things that I haven't seen a Q do in quite a while," said Howard head coach Dan Ritter. "He'll often find ways to make time in the pocket and then launch one, and at times you're looking at it like, 'Did he really just throw that that far?' "

Footwork drills started in the Matthews family when RJ was 6 or 7, Dad says. Not long after, Matthews was playing youth football with his cousin Jamal Johnson, now the Wildcats leading receiver.

But Matthews Sr. didn't coach his son full-time until RJ reached Howard, where he has been the boys basketball head coach since 2015 in addition to coordinating the Wildcats offense. His teachings come from experience. Matthews Sr. is the all-time leading passer at Delaware State University with 8,073 yards accumulated from 1996 to 2000.

In his freshman year in 2020, Matthews split time at quarterback with a senior, Donovan Cartwright, as the Wildcats capped an undefeated season with a Division II championship. They've been a playoff team in the two years that followed, but have not advanced beyond the quarterfinals.

The goal is to leave Howard better than he found it, which can only mean winning a state title.

Matthews has another source of motivation in the final weeks of the season. Despite his prolific production, the senior holds just one college offer. It came from Robert Morris, a school in the Northeast Conference Matthews wasn't familiar with prior to getting offered. He believes he belongs among a higher caliber of competition.

"It's a difficult and frustrating process, honestly," Matthews said.

"I gotta go out there and prove it."

The coach's son

Matthews hesitates when asked what it's like to be coached by his father.

"I don't know, it's hard to explain," he starts. "We honestly don't talk about football often."

The footwork drill off to the side of Wednesday's practice is not taken from a movie scene where a coach gives his son an earful. It's easy to tell that even when Matthews missteps he knows what he needed to do.

They are intentional about leaving football on the field. The rule is that on their drive home from Howard to Middletown football matters are off limits once they hit I-95.

"It's not that hard," Matthews Sr. said.

There are a few instances when football will seep through. Matthews said sometimes they'll be watching game tape in separate rooms at home. When they emerge for air, they'll often give each other the same notes on their upcoming opponent.

"We don't talk about football a lot, only when it's needed," Matthews said. "He likes to try to give me my space."

When Matthews played as a freshman, Howard was a run-first team. Now, with pass catchers like Johnson, senior wide receiver Robert Kelly and sophomore tight end Desai Drummond, the Wildcats are airing it out.

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Ritter said Matthews has grown into a leadership role. As he complimented Matthews' maturity and confidence, he ran past playing wide receiver for the scout team against Howard's starting defense.

At the top of the route, Matthews reeled in a skyscraper from the left arm of Matthews Sr. He's also the all-time leading passer among high school scout teams, probably.

"I still like to have some fun," Matthews Sr. said later as he came to the sideline.

Future plans unknown

Matthews spent a lot of his summer here throwing routes to his receivers to work on timing and accuracy.

The coaching staff invited colleges to attend. Matthews has drawn interest from the likes of Holy Cross, Old Dominion and James Madison, but Robert Morris is his only standing offer.

"It's good knowing that I have that, but obviously you want more," Matthews said. "If that's my only option, then I'm going to have to go there and make something happen, but obviously I want more because I feel like I'm a better player."

His father's alma mater Delaware State University made Matthews an offer on his birthday during his junior season. About two months later, a new coaching staff was installed and the offer to Matthews was rescinded.

Ritter said recent changes to the NCAA's transfer rules have made it more difficult for high school quarterbacks like Matthews to draw interest from Division I schools.

More than 2,000 students at both the FBS and FCS levels enter the transfer portal each year, essentially declaring themselves collegiate free agents. Since 2021, players who transfer are no longer required to sit out a season at their new school.

Because of that, for many programs recruiting and developing high school kids has taken a back seat to adding players through the transfer portal who are more mature in age and size and have collegiate experience.

That dynamic is amplified at the quarterback position, where only one player sees the field at a time.

"I think when it's all said and done, I think he'll land somewhere good, but it may take him a round about way," Ritter said.

Howard's season did not start as Matthews envisioned it when he tossed passes to Johnson and Kelly this summer.

After the Wildcats dropped their first two games of the season, Matthews, Johnson and other team leaders addressed the team. The intensity and focus in practice changed and they began to turn their season around, Matthews said.

A five-game winning streak, starting with the 60-point outburst against Woodbridge, followed. Two weeks ago, Archmere broke that streak by holding the Howard offense to 6 points. The loss will likely prevent Howard from claiming the 2A-2 district title, placing the Wildcats among the middle seeds in the Class 2A playoffs.

Matthews responded well Friday night against Mount Pleasant, opening the game with a 15-yard out to Johnson for a touchdown thrown with anticipation. The cousins connected on two more deep touchdowns in the first quarter. Later, Matthews made throws in rhythm and after creating with his legs.

"All the stuff you see me do in the game, I practice here on this exact field," Matthews said. "When it comes time to do it in a game, it's kind of like second nature."

Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on X @holveck_brandon.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Howard's RJ Matthews is one of best quarterbacks in Delaware