During a pre-season scrimmage his senior year he broke his foot and wound up missing five games, therefore after high school graduation he attended Milford Academy.

[1] After one year at Milford Academy, Matakevich committed to Temple University to play college football.

[7][8] Leading Temple to the inaugural American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship during his final year of eligibility, Matakevich received national honors including the AAC Defensive Player of the Year, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Chuck Bednarik Award.

[15][16] He said, at the time of receiving the call from head coach Mike Tomlin, he was in the process of speaking to other teams about being signed as a priority undrafted free-agent.

[17] Throughout training camp, he competed for a roster spot against veteran Steven Johnson, L. J. Fort, and Travis Feeney.

[18][19] Head coach Mike Tomlin named him the backup inside linebacker to Ryan Shazier to start the regular season.

[20] The Pittsburgh Steelers finished the 2016 season first in the AFC North with an 11–5 record and received a playoff berth.

He returned to training camp in 2017 and competed to a roster spot against Steven Johnson, L. J. Fort, Travis Feeney, Kevin Anderson, Matt Galambos, and Keith Kelsey.

Teammate Anthony Chickillo recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown and made the first score of the Steelers' season.