Matt Goncalves carries his late father's dream every time he takes the field

INDIANAPOLIS — Matt Goncalves has always understood the power of belief.

His father, William, always believed deeply in his son’s ability to play professionally.

From the time he was little until his father passed away following a battle with cancer last October, Goncalves could lean on his father’s confidence, a belief that helped carry him from Eastport-South Manor High to Pittsburgh to the Colts, all the way to a starting job in his second season in the NFL.

“He made me love the game, he made me believe in myself,” Goncalves said. “An important thing is, it helped me believe in myself as much as my dad did. He believed in me more than everybody.”

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Goncalves needed that belief.

The talent was there. When the Colts drafted Goncalves in the third round of the 2024 draft, they thought they were taking a future right tackle.

Goncalves made nine starts at tackle as a rookie, building confidence in his ability to play at the NFL level, then got shifted to fill a hole on the interior of the offensive line. He’d been a tackle for most of his life; playing guard required Goncalves to essentially spend his first season as a starter in rookie mode, learning on the fly while starting for the Colts.

But that first season as a starting guard clarified what he needed to do in the offseason.

“The strength aspect of it,” Goncalves said. “Working different body positions, being in a three-point stance, how to fire out off of that. Striking quickly, because they’re on top of you before you know it. Understanding that, maybe a different scheme, it definitely brings a different perspective into what you want to incorporate in your training.”

Goncalves also realized he needed to get his mind in a different place.

He had spent his first two seasons learning, and there’s an inherent uncertainty that comes with trying to pick up something on the fly.

“This is the NFL,” Goncalves said. “It’s hard. It’s a lot of stress, it’s a lot of anxiety. You have expectations to perform, it’s kind of hard to get to that state to kind of believe in yourself and be confident. You’re worrying about this, that and the other thing. When you kind of just block those things out, focus on your job, have fun, believe in yourself and know the play, it’ll take care of itself.”

Goncalves needed to develop the kind of belief that his father always had in him.

“I made a lot of changes in my attitude and my mindset,” Goncalves said. “Just go have fun. Believe in myself; I think belief is a powerful thing.”

When he returned to the Colts this offseason, Goncalves was a different kind of player.

Even if he didn’t realize it at first. A reporter asked Goncalves in training camp if he felt like a veteran, and at the time, he wasn’t sure how to answer. Goncalves isn’t the type of player to sing his own praises.

Four games into the season, Goncalves can see a difference now.

He knows the position, knows how he’s supposed to approach positional drills to fix his technique or take it to the next level. When he gets into the building every morning, Goncalves knows everybody he’s passing in the hallways, knows the routine he has to use to get ready for Sunday.

“That gives me confidence,” Goncalves said. “‘I’ve got this, I’m a vet.'”

The rest of the Colts offensive line can tell a difference.

“He’s poised, he’s a pro,” left tackle Bernhard Raimann said. “He takes care of all the little details. You can see how much he prepares every week, how much winning matters to him.”

Goncalves is playing like it right now.

The Indianapolis offense is off to a rough start, and young Colts right tackle Jalen Travis is going through growing pains.

But the right guard has been a rock for Indianapolis, stabilizing the right side of the line next to Travis. Goncalves has not given up a “blown block” in the passing game, according to Sports Info Solutions, and he’s been almost perfect in the run game as well, a rarity for a lineman after four games.

“His technique, the way he finishes blocks, his physicality in the run game, his poise in pass pro, his hands, it’s been great,” Raimann said. “It’s been phenomenal.”

Goncalves has also become the kind of lineman that young players like Jalen Farmer can watch and try to emulate.

“Works really hard at it,” Colts quarterback Daniel Jones said. “No surprise, he’s playing at a high level.”

Every time Goncalves puts his hand in the dirt, he thinks of his dad, who died almost a year ago.

When he plays on Pittsburgh’s field again this weekend, those thoughts will likely be even stronger, given his history in college.

“This is our dream together, to get to this level,” Goncalves said. “I have two other brothers. Obviously, they played basketball, baseball. His dream was to see his sons go play for a professional sports team.”

He’s gotten to the point his father always believed he’d reach.   

Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Matt Goncalves carries his late father’s dream every time he takes the field

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