Matt Ludwig

Physical Profile

Listed 6-4 to 6-4.5 and 240-255 lb depending on source, with 247Sports noting he may measure a shade under 6-4 but carries verified length: an 80-inch-plus wingspan and very large hands. That length is the calling card at tight end, because it widens his catch radius on seam throws and lets him land first as a blocker. The athletic testing is unusual for the size: an 11.12 100-meter dash (roughly 4.6 forty-range, an inexact conversion), plus 172-5 in the discus and 53-2 in the shot put, which produced NextGen scores of 97 explosion and 91 speed. He played tight end, defensive end, wildcat quarterback and punter, so the frame has already proven it can absorb a two-way workload. He is closer to a finished body than most Montana products, so the remaining gains are refinement rather than mass.

Play Style

On film he is a physical, downhill tight end who wins with length first. As a receiver he is a seam attacker who catches through contact and high-points, not a finesse route runner; the catch radius and hands let the QB throw him open. As a blocker he plays with a low pad level for his height, gets his hands on defenders early and finishes with leg drive. He was Billings West's short-yardage answer as a wildcat runner (7 rushing TDs), which shows the contact balance and competitiveness. His two-way usage at defensive end shows up as edge toughness and a willingness to block in space. The tendency to lean on athletic mismatch is the main thing that has to change at the Big 12 level.

Strengths

• Length and hands at the catch point: 80-inch-plus wingspan and large hands let him attack the seam, catch through contact and go up over defenders, which 247Sports flagged as vertical athleticism rather than just size.
• Blocking leverage for a move tight end: Andrew Ivins noted he is quick to establish leverage 1-on-1 and keeps his legs driving, and Montana observers described him dominating as an in-line blocker, so he is not a receiving-only H-back.
• Elite explosiveness for a 250-pounder: 97 explosion / 91 speed NextGen scores backed by real track and throws marks (11.12 100m, 172-5 discus, 53-2 shot) rather than camp-only numbers.
• Versatility and production: 736 receiving yards and 10 receiving TDs, plus 7 rushing TDs as a wildcat QB and 13.5 TFL at DE, show he can be schemed as an H-back, in-line Y or short-yardage weapon.

Areas to Improve

• Route refinement against Power Four coverage: his tape is against Montana Class AA competition, so separation came largely from athletic and physical mismatches; he will need to sharpen stems, breaks and releases versus linebackers and safeties who can match his speed.
• In-line pass protection and sustaining blocks against edge rushers with real length; his HS blocking wins came on leverage and effort, and Ivins projects him as a move TE with H-back traits rather than a pure Y, which is scheme-dependent.
• Positional focus: splitting time at DE, wildcat QB and punter limited his full-time TE reps, and the 247Sports evaluation itself notes a limited evaluation sample, so the first college year is about volume of position-specific technique work.

College Projection

Move tight end / H-back with in-line capability at Texas Tech, with an early-enrollee head start on the 2026 season. Realistic path is rotational snaps and special-teams work as a true freshman, becoming a primary TE by year two or three as route detail and pass-pro catch up to the body. Given his three-way athleticism and blocking leverage, a redshirt is not a lock; Texas Tech's staff gave him a single-digit number as a freshman, which signals expectations. Post-signing status as of this report: enrolled at Texas Tech; no injury or redshirt news was found in searches.

NFL Outlook

247Sports' Andrew Ivins projects a Day 3 pick (rounds 4-7) with a Jaren Kanak comparison. The draft case rests on a rare size-explosiveness combination (6-4, 250+, 11.12 100m, 97 explosion score) plus 80-inch reach and a willingness to block. To reach the middle rounds he needs to become a complete Y who can stay on the field in 12 personnel, and to test in the 4.6s at 250 in Indianapolis. The ceiling is a starting-caliber move TE if the route running develops; the floor is a special-teams and blocking TE who sticks on a roster.

Best Fit

An offense that uses motion, 12 personnel and H-back alignments so he can be moved to create mismatches on linebackers and be used as a lead blocker on the edge. Texas Tech's Air Raid-influenced scheme under Joey McGuire is a reasonable fit for his receiving upside, and its Big 12 defenses will test his blocking. A program that had wanted a pure in-line Y with heavy pass-pro responsibility would have been a less natural match early; the schemes that maximize him are those that scheme his seam and flat routes off run action and let his athleticism, not route precision, win downs while the technique matures.