For new Ravens tight end Matt Hibner, reconnecting with former Michigan defensive coordinator and current Ravens head coach Jesse Minter after being drafted in the fourth round makes Baltimore feel like a perfect fit that he “couldn’t draw it up any better.”
Hibner immediately expressed his excitement on Glenn Clark Radio April 29.
“I couldn’t draw it up any better,” he said.
The 6-foot-4, 251-pound tight end spent the first three years of his college career at Michigan and the final two at SMU. His numbers improved significantly after the switch to SMU, where he recorded a total of 55 receptions for 804 yards and eight touchdowns in two seasons. He caught a career-high 31 passes for 436 yards and four touchdowns in 2025.
At the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, Hibner posted a 4.57-second 40-yard dash and had an athleticism score of 81 but a total score of just 69, which put him 10th out of the tight ends.
Although he was a fourth-round pick, Hibner said the team mattered to him far more than when his named was called.
“Once the pick was there and it was the Ravens, I could have been the last pick in the draft,” he said. “I just would have been so thankful to have the opportunity to play at the Ravens.”
The Burke, Va., native said that a big reason he’s excited to come to Baltimore is his relationship with Minter, whom he got to know when he played at Michigan.
“I was on offense, he was on defense at Michigan,” Hibner said. “But I think in general that team was so close and just being around the building, being able to talk to him outside of meetings, at lunch and things like that and just getting to know him as a coach but also as a human being, as a person and seeing how much respect that he [brings] and the positivity that he brought.”
Hibner praised Minter’s coaching style, saying he is very professional and is able to connect with players.
“I can’t remember a time where I really heard him yelling and screaming and looking at my teammates at Michigan like, ‘Whoa, this guy’s kind of lost it right now,'” Hibner said. “He’s always taken a professional approach to that type of thing. He knows what he wants to get done.”
Hibner’s journey has not been typical. After winning a national championship at Michigan in 2023, he transferred to SMU for a bigger role. He said that decision allowed him to show what he can do and what he can contribute.
At SMU, Hibner said he embraced a larger role as he lined up in multiple spots in a spread offense, playing all over the field. That makes him a versatile player heading to the NFL.
“I’m always trying to be as complete of a tight end as I can,” he said. “That’s always been what I’ve tried to show. You can just plug-and-play me at whatever position on the field if you need me to and I’ll do it at a high level.”
Along with his versatility, Hibner said he is ready to do absolutely whatever the team needs.
“If I’m doing one thing or the other, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability,” he said.
Hibner said his upbringing kept him grounded during the draft process. He said he was raised in a military family and that has shaped who he is now.
“I would say that I’m fairly structured … that’s kind of just the way that my whole family was raised,” he said. “My father, he did a great job of instilling that.”
Hibner’s balance of excitement and humility is exactly his mindset as he starts his professional football career.
“At the end of the day, I’m still just like everybody else,” he said.
For more from Hibner, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Matt Hibner/SMU Athletics