Saturdays are made for college football. So here at Cheesehead TV we try to honor that tradition while keeping an eye toward the future and look at some of the players who will eventually be playing on Sundays.

Will the players featured in this series really become Green Bay Packers? It's a long shot. Instead, consider it more of an NFL Draft preview.

Today's future Packer...

Oregon Senior Linebacker Casey Matthews

I've gotten a couple requests to do a "Future Packer" feature on Casey because of the obvious connection with his brother Clay, who plays for the Packers. This was as good a time as any as Oregon travels to USC for a big-time Pac-10 tilt, Clay's alma mater and the site of College Gameday.

Unlike Clay, Casey is an inside linebacker (although Clay has lined up on the inside on occasion this season, mostly to blitz). What they have in common is that they're both instinctive players with a nose for the football, a result of good bloodlines.

Casey was Oregon's second-leading tackler with 81 stops a year ago, a season that also earned him second-team All-Pac-10 honors.

He's kept up his nose-for-the-football ways this season with three interceptions and three fumble recoveries, part of the reason the Ducks lead the nation with 25 turnovers.

Creating so many turnovers is one reason the Ducks have been so successful this season, although it can be argued that the only team with a pulse they've played so far this season has been Stanford.

Several observers maintain that Oregon's offense is better than its defense, but statistics don't lie. Oregon has allowed only 23 points in the second half of games all season long and only 7 in the fourth quarter.

Winning the turnover battle will be a key in today's showdown with USC. The Trojans' best player this season has been quarterback Matt Barkley, and if Matthews can harass him, it would definitely improve the Ducks' chances for a victory.

Whether it's getting to Barkley in the offensive backfield on a well-timed blitz or intercepting him in pass coverage, Matthews can have an impact on the outcome of the game with a momentum-changing play.

The younger brother doesn't figure to go in the first round of the upcoming NFL draft like his older brother, but Casey should still be able to make a living in the NFL.

Casey is ranked somewhere between the 5th to 10th best inside linebacker in this year's draft class, likely making him a mid- to late-round draft choice, although his bloodlines could improve his draft stock.

At 6-1 and 235 pounds he's slightly undersized, but the Packers don't mind their inside linebackers a little on the smaller side. A.J. Hawk is similarly only 6-1, and Desmond Bishop is listed as being 238 pounds.

Packers fans would no doubt love to see the brothers on the same team, and while the possibility is slim, it makes for a good story.

Video highlights: