Arizona's Matthew Lado 'has proven that he can be a Big 12 tackle'

Matthew Lado was enrolled at the University of Arizona for a week before his career as a Wildcat took a turn. 

Then, Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch left the UA for Washington and took a majority of his staff with him to Seattle, including former offensive line coach Brennan Carroll. 

Lado, an offensive lineman from Glendale, was a part of Arizona's 2024 recruiting class and signed with the Wildcats alongside his Apollo High School teammates in running back Adam Mohammed and offensive lineman Michael Watkins. 

A little over a month prior to Fisch leaving Arizona, signing with the Wildcats in December of 2023 "was a super emotional day" for the Apollo trio, Lado said.

"It was just proof of our hard work paying off," Lado added.  

However, with Fisch and other position coaches heading out, Lado (pronounced lah-doh) and several of his UA teammates — some of them early enrollees as members of Arizona's 2024 recruiting class — had to make career decisions with two transfer portal windows (one for the coaching change and the spring period) on the horizon.  

"I just didn't know what to do," Lado recalled. "I was just thinking about my future and what I was going to do. I kept asking my teammates what they were going to do. I asked Adam and asked Michael and I decided to stay here. ... I tried to get (Mohammed and Watkins) to stay with me, but they wanted to leave." 

When Arizona hired head coach Brent Brennan to replace Fisch two days later, "I just tried to be honest with those guys because it was tricky and complicated," Brennan said.

"They were recruited by a different staff and had a relationship with the previous staff," Brennan said. "This new group that came in, they didn't know us at all."

Lado cited "the (player-led) culture and brotherhood" as a key factor in getting the 6-6, 308-pound offensive tackle to stay in Tucson.

Arizona right guard Alexander Doost, who was a part of the first transfer portal group for 2024, was new to the UA after the Phoenix native spent the previous year at Northwestern, when the former UA coaching regime left. 

"I think that's what got me and Lado super close," Doost said. "When he decided to stick it out, too, I was super happy to hear that because I really wanted to play with Lado."

Since joining the Arizona football program, Lado has developed personal relationships with multiple of his UA teammates. Lado and Doost bond over video games and their affinity for classic rock music — more notably AC/DC and Metallica.

"Us coming into the program, we got really close," Lado said. "We both like video games and listening to rock music a lot."

Last season, Lado and former left guard Wendell Moe had several competitive chess matches. Chess has been one of Lado's hobbies since he was 12 years old in Glendale, where he was one of five siblings — two brothers and two sisters. 

Lado's older brother inspired him to play football, and he "fell in love with the physicality that a lot of sports doesn't have and the sense of brotherhood on teams."

Lado initially played on the defensive line as a 6-2 eighth grader, "but then I got taller and my coaches moved me to O-Line," he said.

More often than not, true freshmen aren't expected to be contributors in their first season, but Arizona's injury-plagued offensive line, which had seven different starting lineups in 2024, thrust Lado into appearing in games at both tackle spots. Lado played behind left tackle Rhino Tapa'atoutai and right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea, who became a second-round pick by the Miami Dolphins, as a true freshman.  

In the 25 offensive snaps Lado played, "I was just super nervous, you know, going up against grown-ass men and I just got out of high school," he said.  

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"I got to see how the speed and the physical level of college football," added Lado. 

Added Brennan: "Outside of quarterback, offensive tackle is the hardest position to play on the field as a true freshman. Physically, you're not ready for it. Mentally, the volume of play calls or adjustments or offensive line calls are infinitely more than what you have in high school most of the time."

Even though Lado didn't surrender any sacks, he struggled at times and received a 49.9 pass-blocking grade on Pro Football Focus for the 2024 season. The Arizona staff was optimistic about Lado's trajectory, but they remained patient. 

"Even though he's a big man, he's still a young man," Brennan said of Lado last year. 

Arizona signed a plethora of offensive linemen in the offseason, including transfer tackles Ty Buchanan (Texas Tech) and Tristan Bounds (Michigan), who both became starters for the Wildcats this season. The tackles who started ahead of Lado the last two seasons "all helped me a lot with my technique. They've given me mentorship," he said. 

Buchanan, who is Arizona's starting left tackle, exited the 24-20 win over Kansas in November with an injury and Bounds suffered a season-ending leg injury in the Wildcats' upset win over 25th-ranked Cincinnati the following week. Lado stepped in for both Buchanan and Bounds — and is now Arizona's starting right tackle, as the 17th-ranked Wildcats prepare to take on SMU in the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl on Friday. 

Starting next to Doost "has helped me a lot," Lado said.

"He's a more experienced player, so there's a lot of stuff that I can learn from," Lado said. 

Lado has done a serviceable job at right tackle, allowing no sacks and five quarterback pressures in 124 pass-blocking snaps. Lado started at right tackle in Arizona's home finale against Baylor and the Territorial Cup victory over Arizona State in Tempe.

Brennan said the experience Lado gained from traveling with the team last year, practicing, reviewing practice and game film and working with offensive line coach Josh Oglesby played a significant part in Lado's development in the last year.  

"That's the biggest benefit for him," Brennan said. "Playing a small amount of snaps in a game, I don't know how much of a benefit that was for him. Being able to travel, get coached by Josh, be in those meetings, that's where I think the value is." 

During the season, Buchanan and Bounds were unavailable to practice some days, so Lado "is getting a ton of reps" with Arizona's first- and second-team offense, said UA offensive coordinator Seth Doege.  

"Lado really progressed through the season, because there were days where he was taking every single rep," Doege said. "To do that, you gotta be really tough. You can see his confidence going through the roof right now. It's one thing to practice, but it's another thing to have success against real people. He's not a finished product by any means. We've got a lot of work to do with Lado, but he has proven that he can be a Big 12 tackle. I'm excited to see the progress he's made and continues to make."

Lado and a healthier Tapa'atoutai could conceivably be Arizona's tackle tandem next season. The Wildcats also have rising underclassman Louis Akpa, who signed with Arizona's 2025 recruiting class, among others. Arizona is losing Buchanan, Bounds, left guard Chubba Maae and center Ka'ena Decambra to graduation. 

Regardless of how Arizona's offensive line will be shuffled next year, this season could be a launching pad for a breakout redshirt sophomore season for Lado in 2026.  

"I feel like the experience I have now, starting games, it's going to accelerate my process and my development going into next season," Lado said.

"I should become a better player."