{"id":871786,"date":"2026-04-22T09:57:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/871786\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T09:57:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:57:27","slug":"jaguars-logan-cooke-ross-matiscik-drafted-as-jay-fund-ambassadors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/871786\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaguars Logan Cooke, Ross Matiscik ‘drafted’ as Jay Fund Ambassadors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jacksonville Jaguars long snapper Ross\u00a0Matiscik<\/a>, who came into the league in 2020 as an undrafted free agent, can, in a way, remove that distinction from his resume.<\/p>\n

He’s\u00a0now been drafted.<\/p>\n

“Hey, first round pick … give it to me,” said the seven-year veteran Pro Bowler.<\/p>\n

The player\u00a0Matiscik\u00a0has been\u00a0snapping to\u00a0for punts and to hold on field goal and conversion attempts, Logan Cooke<\/a>, also joined\u00a0Matiscik\u00a0in the draft.<\/p>\n

But not the NFL draft<\/a>, which begins on April 23.<\/p>\n

It’s\u00a0a draft that goes beyond the bright lights and a hug from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. This draft can\u00a0have far-reaching benefits for more people in need.<\/p>\n

Jay Fund \u2018ambassadors\u2019 drafted in two cities<\/p>\n

The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation,\u00a0<\/a>founded 31 years ago by the former Jaguars coach and executive<\/a>, launched its first-ever “Ambassador Class,” with athletes in the two cities where Coughlin coached advancing the foundation’s mission of\u00a0assisting\u00a0families with children battling cancer.<\/p>\n

\"Jaguar<\/p>\n

Jaguar punter Logan Cooke, left, is interviewed with Liam Smith, 14, center, while playing in the 30th annual Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Celebrity Golf Tournament Monday May 19, 2025 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Fla. [Doug Engle\/Florida Times-Union]<\/p>\n

Cooke and\u00a0Matiscik\u00a0were “drafted” as the\u00a0Jaguars’\u00a0representatives. The New York athletes are former New York Giants guard (and now Giants senior scout) Chris Snee and Juan Carlos\u00a0Amoros, coach of the New York\/New Jersey Gotham FC.<\/p>\n

NFL players who are drafted get a team\u00a0hat\u00a0when they walk to the podium and the Jay Fund draftees are no different: They all received a custom trucker\u2019s hat designed with the help of 13-year-old cancer survivor Camila Izaguirre, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was a toddler, and now, after nearly a decade of treatment, she is in a monitoring stage.<\/p>\n

Although the athletes have already been involved in events supporting the Jay Fund, such as charity golf tournaments, they will contribute to outreach, be a part of planning for future events and do more to elevate awareness that households face when a child is diagnosed with pediatric cancer.<\/p>\n

As ambassadors, they will also\u00a0participate\u00a0in media appearances and programming that highlights the experiences of Jay Fund families.<\/p>\n

To date, the Jay Fund has provided more than $39 million in support\u00a0for\u00a0more than 6,700 families.<\/p>\n

Jaguars players said Coughlin\u2019s involvement drew them<\/p>\n

\u201cJuan, Logan, Ross, and Chris understand what it means to be part of a team, but more than that, they understand what it means to stand beside someone in their hardest moments,\u201d\u00a0Coughlin\u00a0said in a statement. \u201cEvery family we serve is facing the unimaginable. To have people like this step forward, not just in name, but in heart, means everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jaguars players who will be involved\u00a0can’t\u00a0wait.<\/p>\n

\"Jacksonville<\/p>\n

Jacksonville Jaguars long snapper Ross Matiscik visits Bella (center) with her little brother during a visit with patients at the Wolfson Children’s Hospital.<\/p>\n

“When you go to events, hospital visits and see these kids and their families, see the smiles you can put on their faces just by showing up, it’s almost contagious,”\u00a0Matiscik\u00a0said. “Jacksonville is my home now and as long as I’m\u00a0here\u00a0I want to do everything I can for the Jay Fund.”<\/p>\n

Cooke has his own foundation<\/a> and is the father of two\u00a0children, but\u00a0said he will\u00a0make time\u00a0for his enhanced role with the Jay Fund.<\/p>\n

“I know how I feel when one of my kids gets a little\u00a0sickness,” he said. “There are families and kids who are going through much more devastating situations.\u00a0They not only have to worry about their children but things from a financial\u00a0standpoint,\u00a0and that’s where the Jay Fund steps in and plays a pivotal role.\u00a0I have my own\u00a0foundation,\u00a0but when this opportunity came up, I wanted to be a part of it.”<\/p>\n

Cooke was drafted in the seventh round by the Jaguars in 2018 when Coughlin was the Executive Vice-President of Football Operations.\u00a0Matiscik\u00a0came to the team in 2020, a year after Coughlin and the Jaguars parted ways, but has had frequent contact with Coughlin through Jay Fund events.<\/p>\n

Both players said working with Coughlin in a capacity other than football was a major reason\u00a0they’re\u00a0participating\u00a0in the Ambassador Program.<\/p>\n

“Tom, like all of us,\u00a0has\u00a0a football mindset switch,” Cooke said. “It kicks in when you need it to. But when it comes to the Jay Fund and these kids, Coach Coughlin has that generous, kind-heartedness that kicks in. Anything he wants out of me, I’m there.”<\/p>\n

Matiscik\u00a0has honored the Jay\u00a0Fund\u00a0the last two years with the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats,” allowing Jay Fund kids to do the design.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been somewhat part of the [Jay Fund] family,”\u00a0Matiscik\u00a0said. “To finally make it official and be part of their team is very cool.\u00a0I’m\u00a0ready to be part of the planning on how\u00a0we’re\u00a0going to\u00a0impact\u00a0even more.”<\/p>\n

Jay Fund named for former Boston College player<\/p>\n

The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation was founded in 1996 and named for Jay McGillis, a\u00a0safety\u00a0who played for Coughlin when he coached at Boston College. McGillis was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away eight months later in 1991.<\/p>\n

Following Jay’s death, Coughlin created the foundation. For more information, visit\u00a0www.tcjayfund.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jay Fund Ambassador program ‘drafts’ Jaguars Logan Cooke, Ross Matiscik<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jacksonville Jaguars long snapper Ross\u00a0Matiscik, who came into the league in 2020 as an undrafted free agent, can,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":871787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2060],"tags":[67347,7,212,125,2401,213,102114,16838,56,6,16841,20197,118141],"class_list":{"0":"post-871786","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville-jaguars","8":"tag-chris-snee","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-jacksonville","11":"tag-jacksonville-jaguars","12":"tag-jacksonvillejaguars","13":"tag-jaguars","14":"tag-jay-fund","15":"tag-logan-cooke","16":"tag-new-york-giants","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-ross-matiscik","19":"tag-tom-coughlin","20":"tag-tom-coughlin-jay-fund"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116447774581128746","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=871786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/871787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=871786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=871786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=871786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}