Matt Gulbin is a center and 2026 NFL Draft prospect who finished his collegiate career with the Michigan State Spartans after spending four seasons at Wake Forest. A native of Wilton, Connecticut, Gulbin attended Wilton High School as a two-way lineman, earning two-time First Team All-FCIAC recognition and First Team All-State honors from both the New Haven Register and Walter Camp in 2019 before committing to Wake Forest as a three-star recruit in the 2021 class. He redshirted in 2021, contributed as a reserve in 2022, then started 11 games at right guard in 2023, earning recognition as the fourth-best guard in the ACC by PFF. He became a full-time starter at left guard for all 12 games in 2024 at Wake Forest, earning Honorable Mention All-ACC honors and allowing just one sack across a career-high 806 snaps. He graduated from Wake Forest with a bachelor's degree in communication in December 2024 and entered the transfer portal as a graduate student, committing to Michigan State. The Spartans moved him to center, a position he had played only sparingly at Wake Forest, and he transitioned seamlessly, being voted team captain, earning a Rimington Trophy Watch List nod, and starting 11 of 12 games before an undisclosed injury kept him out of the finale against Maryland. His PFF center grade was second in the FBS in 2025, with the top run-blocking grade at the position nationally. He was invited to the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, checking in at 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds.
Standing 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds with 31 3/4-inch arms, Gulbin is known for an immovable anchor that represents one of the best in the entire draft class regardless of position, a nasty finishing mentality and leg drive that consistently produces knockback blocks on inside-zone and power concepts, and the consistency and upward development trajectory of a player who improved at every level of competition from three-star recruit to high school captain to All-ACC guard to the FBS's top-graded run-blocking center. NFL evaluators project him as a developmental center and interior backup who is best suited for inside-zone and gap-heavy schemes, with the physical tools and competitive disposition to develop into a reliable starter once he accrues more experience at center and refines his pre-snap communication and hand-fighting technique against NFL-caliber defensive tackles.
