Matt Saracen

Matt Saracen
Friday Night Lights character
Zach Gilford as Matthew Saracen
First appearance	"Pilot"
Last appearance	"Always"
Created by	Peter Berg
Portrayed by	Zach Gilford
Information
Nickname(s)	Matt, Matty, QB1, Seven, Cobra, Mayday
Occupation	High School Student and Back-up Quarterback for the Dillon Panthers ("Pilot," Season 1) High School Student and Starting Quarterback for the Dillon Panthers (Seasons 1-3) High School Student and Wide Receiver for the Dillon Panthers (Season 3) High School Student and Alamo Freeze Assistant Manager (Seasons 1-3) Community College Student and Panther Pizza Delivery Driver (Season 4) College Art Student (Season 4- )
Family	Lorraine Saracen (Grandmother) Henry Saracen (Father, deceased) Shelby Garrett (Mother) Eric Taylor (Father-in-Law) Tami Taylor (Mother-in-Law) Gracie Taylor (Sister-in-Law)
Significant other(s)	Julie Taylor (Girlfriend, Ex-Girlfriend, Fiancée, Wife (ambiguous)) Carlotta (fling)

Matthew "Matt" Saracen is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV (The 101 Network) television drama series Friday Night Lights portrayed by the actor, Zach Gilford. He is the former back-up quarterback of the Dillon High School Panthers before being thrust into the starting spotlight after Jason Street suffers a career-ending injury. His character is based on Mike Winchell from the source novel and the 2004 film Friday Night Lights.

Matt is the son of Henry Saracen and Shelby Garrett. He lives alone with his grandmother, Lorraine Saracen. Matt takes care of Lorraine due to her old age and battle with dementia. At one time, Matt's relationship with both of his parents was strained. His father, Henry, was in the U.S. Army and his mother, Shelby, left Matt when he was a child after divorcing Henry. The full extent of their relationship is unknown, but it is implied that Henry may have been an abusive husband.

He is the back-up quarterback for the Dillon Panthers in the "Pilot" as a sophomore. Eventually, he is the starting quarterback for the Dillion Panthers in seasons 1 and 2. He then becomes the wide receiver for the Dillon Panthers in season 3, his senior year. He is a main character in seasons 1 through 3 and continues to play an important role in the series throughout seasons 4 and 5.

In season 1, when Henry is first introduced, the difficult relationship between father is revealed, and throughout the show, it is shown that Matt sees Coach Eric Taylor as more of a father figure than Henry. Henry exhibits some symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (P.T.S.D.). Landry warns Matt that he [Henry] may be "all messed up from the war." However, the term is never explicitly mentioned in the show, leading him to become distant and uncaring of his family, which deeply hurts Matt. During his senior year of high school, in season 3, Matt slowly begins reconnecting with his mother, who desperately wants to be a part of her son's life again. The season after graduating, season 4, Matt's father dies after stepping on an IED.