| Matthew Sluka | |
| School: | UNLV Rebels |
| Currentposition: | Quarterback |
| Class: | Senior |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 3 |
| Weight Lb: | 216 |
| Highschool: | Kellenberg Memorial (Uniondale, New York) Peddie School (Hightstown, New Jersey) |
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| Highlights: |
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| Espn: | 4695904 |
Matthew Sluka is an American football quarterback for the UNLV Rebels. He previously played for the Holy Cross Crusaders.
Sluka grew up in Locust Valley, New York and attended Kellenberg Memorial High School, where he played football, lacrosse, and basketball.[1] As a junior, he passed for 984 yards and 10 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,619 yards and 24 touchdowns as Kellenberg went undefeated and won the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) state championship.[2] As a senior, Sluka led the Firebirds to a second straight undefeated season and CHSAA state championship, completing 74 of 101 pass attempts for 1,203 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushing for 1,131 yards and 22 touchdowns.[3]
Although Sluka was recruited to play college lacrosse by several high-level NCAA Division I programs, he enrolled at the Peddie School for a postgraduate year in hopes of being recruited to play college football.[4]
Sluka was named the Crusaders' starting quarterback going into his freshman season at Holy Cross, which was postponed from the fall to the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19.[5] He was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year after passing for 187 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 268 yards and four touchdowns in four games.[6] Sluka was named second-team All-Patriot League after passing 1,512 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushing for 868 yards and 14 touchdowns during his sophomore season.[7]
Sluka was named first team All-Patriot League as a junior after he completed 153 of 266 pass attempts for 2,489 yards with 26 touchdowns and four interceptions and rushed 203 times for 1,234 yards, which was the most among FCS quarterbacks, and 11 touchdowns and was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award.[8] [9] He passed for 238 and three touchdowns, including one a 46-yard Hail Mary pass as time expired, and rushed for 146 yards in the Crusaders' 37-31 upset win over FBS Buffalo.[10] [11] Sluka rushed for a career-high 213 yards and one touchdown and also passed for 125 yards in Holy Cross's 42-21 loss to eventual champion South Dakota State in the 2022 FCS quarterfinal.[12]
Sluka entered his senior season as a preseason All-American and on the watchlist for the Walter Payton Award.[13] He set a Division I single-game record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 330 yards on 28 carries and rushed for three touchdowns in a 38-35 loss to Lafayette on October 21, 2023.[14] Sluka was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year after passing for 1,728 yards and 20 touchdowns with five interceptions and rushing for 1,247 yards and nine touchdowns.[15] He entered the transfer portal on November 20, 2023.[16] Sluka passed for 5,916 yards and 59 touchdowns and rushed for 3,583 yards and 38 touchdowns during his four seasons at Holy Cross.[17]
Sluka transferred to UNLV in January 2024.[18]