AGELESS; AT 38, TITANS' MATTHEWS IS AS GOOD AS EVER.

Byline: Doug Krikorian

ATLANTA - There are a lot of unique things about Bruce Matthews, foremost of which is his 6-foot-5, 305-pound frame.

``Guys are always coming up to me and saying, `Did you play football?' '' relates the Tennessee Titans guard, who has played in 264 regular-season games, an NFL record for offensive linemen. ``I say, `Yeah, did a little playing in high school.' ''

But more than size sets Matthews apart.

As far as he knows, he's the only player in the history of the NFL who was a college teammate of his head coach, Jeff Fisher, and a pro teammate with his line coach, Mike Munchak.

``I get kidded about that all the time,'' said Matthews. ``Young guys on the team come up to me and say, `You actually played with coach at USC?' `Yeah,' I tell them. They just can't believe it. What's the big deal? I was a freshman and he was a senior.''

And, of course, there's that other slight oddity about Bruce Matthews: He just happens to be a 38-year-old man who's never missed an NFL game because of an injury in a physically damaging sport usually unwelcoming to those who have celebrated so many birthdays.

Kurt Warner might be the rags-to-riches story of Sunday's Super Bowl between the St. Louis Rams and Titans. And the 40-year-old punter, Mike Horan, might be the most unlikely participant because as recently as early November he was nothing more than a loan officer at a mortgage company in Colorado before being rescued from such a plight by the Rams.

But the one player who might be defying the lengthiest odds, if not defying medical science, to be performing in Super Bowl XXXIV is Bruce Matthews, the 1979 Arcadia High graduate and former Trojans All-American.

``Around here, Bruce is like Father Time, but he's still a kid at heart,'' said Titans star running back, Eddie George, beneficiary of Matthews' stout blocking. ``He still has that youthful spirit. Some guys are serious and they have that love for the game. Bruce can be serious or funny.''

After all, Matthews has been mixing it up with some of the strongest, toughest and meanest men in America - NFL defensive linemen and linebackers - for 17 seasons without displaying even the faintest hint of slowing down.

``I think Bruce will walk away from the game when he wants to walk away,'' said Jeff Fisher, the Titans coach. ``As long as he's healthy and able to play on the grass and able to win and enjoys playing, he can play as long as he wants. I do know people ask me if I think I'll see anyone like him again. The answer to that is no.''

In fact, Matthews is set to participate in another Pro Bowl - his 12th straight - after concluding business against the Rams.

``God just blessed me with a great body, as He did with Clay,'' said Matthews, referring to his older brother, who was a linebacker 19 seasons with the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons. ``I've just been very fortunate. I've tweaked the knee a few times, but it's never kept me out of a game.''

Married with four sons and a daughter, Matthews lives in Texas, where the Titans once performed as the Houston Oilers.

``The low point of my career came in 1995, about a week after I had re- signed with the team in August,'' Matthews said. ``We went to Knoxville to play an exhibition game against the Washington Redskins, and our team announced that they were moving to Tennessee. That was pretty hard to take. I loved Houston and didn't want to leave. But I guess things have worked out for us.''

Matthews doesn't understand the reason so many people make such an issue about his age.

``For the first 10 or 12 years I was in the league, no one said a thing about how old I was,'' he said. ``Then all of a sudden guys started retiring and people started coming up to me and saying things like, `Wow, you've been in the league for 13 years now.' And I'd say, `Yeah, so what?'

``And suddenly now everyone who interviews me wants to talk about my age. Honestly, I don't feel any different now than when I came into the league. Oh, I don't recover as quickly from games as I once did. My recuperative powers have definitely declined. But, as far as my ability to do my job, I don't think I have declined at all.''

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Photo: Tennessee Titans lineman Bruce Matthews, 38, has never missed an NFL game because of an injury.

Associated Press