With an unbreakable commitment, Idaho captain Mathias Bertram has made most of time in Moscow

MOSCOW, Idaho – When his career at the University of Idaho concludes, Mathias Bertram will not have left many cards on the table unplayed.

The senior linebacker, a two-time captain, was also named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team last year. He is taking online classes and hopes to complete a master’s of business administration by next summer.

He and his mother founded a nonprofit in 2023, Peter’s Paycheck, named for his uncle “born with severe birth defects,” according to Bertram. It seeks to remove impediments for businesses that want to employ special needs individuals. Bertram is working with classmates at Idaho to expand the program’s reach.

He also took a lay mission trip to Peru with a group, Fellowship of Catholic University Students, to build concrete stairs into steep hillsides in impoverished communities near Lima, the capital, and to finish a set of concrete grandstands at a children’s soccer venue.

Bertram has been involved in charitable works since he was a boy, when he volunteered at annual St. Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage dinners that were fundraisers for a homeless shelter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he grew up.

Idaho coach Jason Eck thought enough of that resume to nominate Bertram for the Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team last year.

“I was really impressed with that,” Eck said. “He is the epitome of what you are looking for.

“He is a really neat kid from a neat family.”

With the Good Works Team, Bertram went to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The team was feted everywhere.

“They put us in the nicest hotel there,” Bertram said. “We were in a parade right down Bourbon Street.”

The team was introduced on the field at halftime and watched the game from a suite on the 50-yard line.

“NFL legends hung out with us,” Bertram said. “Growing up, I was a (Washington) fan. (Washington Super Bowl winning quarterback) Doug Williams walked in.”

Bertram is exploring a new horizon more commonly associated with people collecting Social Security checks.

“One of my hobbies is pickleball,” he said. “It’s a great sport. Less intense.”

A fellow pickleball fan is Vandals defensive line coach Loni Fangupo, Bertram said.

Bertram has gone through his time in Moscow finding little he cannot master. He and his older brother Ben started their college football careers at the University of New Mexico as walk-ons, Ben as a defensive lineman and Mathais as a safety. They earned scholarships, but after a year Lobos coaches felt they could upgrade their talent, and the Bertrams lost their rides.

“That was January 1st. On January 7th, we moved to Moscow,” Mathais Bertram said. “It’s been great.”

Eck points out Mathais Bertram was not offered a scholarship. Eck said he had just been hired in January 2022 and needed help on the defensive line.

“We really started recruiting his brother (Ben),” Eck said. “He asked, ‘Have you got a spot for my brother?’ ”

In a Facetime call with the brothers and their father, Eck said the best he could offer was a chance for Mathais to walk on. He did, and he won a scholarship after spring football.

Idaho switched Mathais from safety to linebacker. After two years as a starter, Bertram has had to share time at two positions as a senior.

“Even this year, he is an unselfish guy,” Eck said.

Bertram started at strongside linebacker last year.

“But this year, Isiah King (redshirt junior from San Diego) has come on and is taking a lot of reps at Sam,” Eck said.

Bertram learned the weakside or Will linebacker position. He splits time with redshirt freshman Zach Johnson at Will and with King at Sam (strongside).

“We have got a three-man rotation,” Eck said.

Bertram had a season-high 10 tackles in Idaho’s most recent game against Football Championship Subdivision 19th-ranked Abilene Christian.

Bertram’s plan after Idaho’s season concludes is to train with his brother at the new gym Ben Bertram opened in Moscow, Palouse Performance, with a goal of earning notice from NFL scouts at an Idaho pro day next spring.

He would also like to spend a year as a lay missionary before getting into a long-term career in coaching football, most likely in high school.

In the meantime, though, he’s with the FCS fourth-ranked Vandals.

“I am making lifelong memories,” Bertram said. “I have never been on a team this close knit.”

The Vandals (3-1) take on their third straight FCS ranked team when they travel to 14th-ranked UC Davis on Saturday.

“Our ultimate goal is a Big Sky Conference championship,” Bertram said. “Everybody knows what we are capable of.” Bertram said

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