Ryan Mathews, the first-round choice of the San Diego Chargers, signed a five-year contract today. He is expected to join the team for today’s practice at Chargers Park from 4-6 pm.

“We are excited to have Ryan here and ready to go,” said Chargers PresidentDean Spanos. “Aside from his outstanding talents on the field, he’s a class young man and the kind of player we’re proud to add to our team.”

The Chargers selected Mathews with the 12th pick in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft, brokering a trade with Miami to move up 16 slots to grab the 6-0, 218-pound speedster. Mathews set a school record and led the NCAA with 1,808-yards and 19-touchdowns as a junior in 2009.

Mathews is known as a downhill runner with a dangerous blend of power and speed. As a junior at Fresno State, he tallied 17 runs of 20 yards or longer and he enjoyed some of his best days against the nation’s top defenses, including a 234-yard, three-touchdown day against Boise State in which he averaged a whopping 12.3 yards per carry. Mathews was the only player in the nation in ’09 to rush for 100 yards against three Top-25 teams (No. 5 Cincinnati, No. 6 Boise St. and No. 14 Wisconsin). In three seasons for the Bulldogs, Mathews rushed for 3,280 yards, scored a school-record 39 touchdowns and averaged an impressive 6.1 yards per carry.