This post is a great example of how little people know about steroids and how they affect the human body.
First, Matthews' facial structure is the exact same in the first picture as in the second. Pictures are a horrible way to forecast steroid use. How many times have you seen pictures of yourself and you looked “different”? The difference in the pictures is due to Clay's increased muscle mass and lower body fat. Simply put, he went from a boy to a man. Look at pictures of yourself when you were a freshman in college and then again during your senior year. You'll look different, just like Clay.
Second, facial changes are not typically a side effect of steroid use in men. Growth Hormone is what can cause facial changes and increased head, hand and feet size. Gyno, aggressive behavior, sevre acne/backne and a bloated appearance are far better “tells” than facial growth. In fact, I don’t recall ever seeing a man's facial features change from steroid use, alone. That is not common at all.
Third, muscle mass and overall weight gain is another poor indication of steroid use (when used as the soul indication of steroid use). If Clay had not trained with weights, and not followed a diet designed to help him add lean mass, when he did start to implement those tools, the muscle would come fast and furious. It’s not out of the ordinary for a novice weight lifter with good to great gentics to see 20-35 lbs of lean mass over the first couple years, training naturally. That said, after that initial shock to the body, muscle gains slow down dramatically, and the typical male can expect to gain 1-5 lbs of lean mass per year. Again, this is why weight alone is a bad gauge of steroid use. Fat and water are not lean muscle, and often times those who gain weight are adding fat along with that muscle, thinking it's quality gains. If you look at pictures of Clay with his shirt off, you can see he’s not extremely lean and clearly has added bodyfat with the lean mass.
A better in indication of Clay's steroid use would be his dramatic improvement in performance and production (that is based on his ability to recover much faster than his peers). Look at all the baseball players who started having huge spikes in performance later in their careers, out of the blue. Steroids are not just used to add muscle..they are also used as a recovery agent.
In conclusion, while increased muscle mass (within reason) can be a tell of steroid use, it’s not even close to an accurate gauge on how to tell if someone is using the drug(s).