Helping the 'old me,' NFL player from Idaho shares his past with foster kids

Shaun Goodwin, The Idaho Statesman on Apr 25, 2025

Published in Football

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BOISE, Idaho — NFL and former Boise State Broncos star Scott Matlock isn’t accustomed to answering questions over Twitch, a video game live-streaming service.

He’s especially not used to answering questions on Twitch from people with usernames like “Glacier Wolf” and “Ballistic Husky.” But he was more than happy to make an exception last week, especially because the questions being asked were from somewhere near and dear to his heart: the foster care system.

Matlock, sitting at a table in the orange-and-blue-hued arena at the back of Boise State’s eSports venue in downtown Boise, spent more than 30 minutes answering questions about his love of gaming and, even more importantly, his experiences in Idaho foster care.

“There’s always light at the end of the tunnel,” Matlock told the room of watching children, many of whom are in the foster care system themselves, as well as viewers over Twitch. “No matter how dark it may seem, there’s always light.”

Matlock spent his teenage years in Idaho’s foster care system. His father, Doug, died of testicular cancer when Matlock was just 9 years old. His mother, Lisa, died of heart disease when he was 13.

It’s why he was so willing to spend several hours with children in foster care at Boise State’s eSports arena, answering questions and playing multiplayer video games like Fall Guys.

The event was a collaboration between the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the Boise State eSports team. It was the latest event organized by Health and Welfare’s new Family and Community Partnerships division, which connects families in need with resources and support.

About 1,200 kids pass through Idaho’s foster care system every year, Laura Denner, administrator of Family and Community Partnerships, told the Idaho Statesman. A big aim for the department, Denner said, is to increase the number of foster families from the current 75 to 150 families per 100 children.

“Being able to be in the position I am now, and helping kind of like the ‘old me,’ in the position I was in, is something I think is really important,” Matlock told the Statesman during a quick reprieve from gaming.

Matlock is a rare breed of player in the NFL, playing on offense and defense for the Los Angeles Chargers. Before going pro he was a defensive tackle for the Broncos, earning second-team All-Mountain West honors twice and winning the Frisco Bowl his senior year in 2022.

But it wasn’t always so straightforward for Matlock. Upon the death of his mother, he bounced around foster care for several months.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do next,” Matlock said. “It was a lot of unknown and a lot of uncertainty.”

A Boise native, Matlock had no one to care for him. His older brother, Steven, was a freshman and on the football team at the University of Idaho in Moscow. The pair is about six years apart, and Steven was “chasing his dream,” Matlock said, meaning it was tough for the elder Matlock to help as much as he’d like.

Scott briefly stayed with family and friends before being placed with his first foster family, but he said it didn’t feel right, and so he was moved to a new one. The second family also didn’t work out — “I broke some rules,” was Matlock’s explanation for that.

It took about four months for Matlock to find the family for him: Mike and Donna Marose of Wilder, about an hour’s drive from Boise.

“They moved mountains for me, and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them,” Matlock said. “We still keep in touch to this day, they come to games. And when I’m home, we always see each other.”

He went on to enroll at Homedale High School and fell in love with football, partly following in his brother’s footsteps, but also because the sport gave him an outlet to channel his energy and emotions. Finding a passion was one of the key pieces of advice Matlock had for the onlooking group of children.

“It could be sports, like it was for me. It could be video games, like we’re doing here,” Matlock said. “Whatever it is, find a passion. Find something that you really like, that’s an outlet for you that you can turn to. It’s kind of like your safe space, but something you know that you can put effort into.”

Still only 24, Matlock’s experiences in Idaho’s foster system aren’t that old. And although he hasn’t been a foster parent himself, he was quick to answer a question from an audience member about how people can help.

“There are a lot of resources out there, foundations, and a very tight-knit community that want to help foster kids and this cause,” Matlock said. “So I would just say reach out and try to find ways to volunteer your time.”

If you’d like to read more about becoming a foster family or other ways to help, you can go to the Department of Health and Welfare’s website (healthandwelfare.idaho.gov). You also can click on specific links, including information about becoming a foster parent or adopting.