Matt Jones (wide receiver)
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| Jacksonville Jaguars | |||||||||||
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| Career information | |||||||||||
| College: | University of Arkansas | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2005 / round: 1 / pick: 21 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2007 | |||||||||||
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Matt Jones (born April 22, 1983) is a wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was selected by the team in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft as the 21st player chosen overall.
Teammates
Since high school, Matt has been teammates with Jacksonville Jaguars long snapper Brett Goode. They attended Northside High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas and the University of Arkansas together.
Football career
In college, Jones was a star athlete for the University of Arkansas, where he played quarterback on the football team and was also a member of the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team. In high school, he was a quarterback at Northside High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas, as well as a sprinter on the school track and field team. He currently holds the Southeastern Conference record for most career rushing yards by a quarterback.
Jones made a name for himself at the NFL Combine where he measured in at a height of 6'6" and weighing 242 pounds and put up scores during the tests that showed speed and explosive ability that had not been seen before in a player of his size. These scores earned him the nickname "The Freak" from the coaches and athletes in attendance. These scores included being timed between 4.37 and 4.40 in the 40 yard dash, a 39.5 inch vertical jump, and a 10 foot 9 inch broad jump.
The Jaguars converted Jones to wide receiver due to his size (6' 6", 235+ pounds), and surprising speed, being timed at 4.37 seconds in the 40 yard dash. They hoped to create matchup problems with opposing defenders who are generally far smaller.
Jones' 2006 season showed more of his talent, but he was still developing. He was hurt for portions of the season, but finished with 41 catches for 643 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Jones lost his starting position to the wide receiving group of Reggie Williams, Ernest Wilford, and Dennis Northcutt.
In the 2007 season, Jones saw his production drop as he feuded with head coach Jack Del Rio and the Jaguars switched to a more conservative run-based offense. The season included a period when starting quarterback David Garrard became injured, making Jones the emergency third string quarterback. In an attempt to produce more, at the beginning of the season, Jones pledged to not shave his beard until he scored a touchdown. His streak of end zone shutouts ended week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jones finished the 2007 regular season with 24 catches for 317 yards and tied for 2nd on the team with 4 touchdown catches.
Arrest
On July 10th, 2008 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Matt Jones was arrested and charged with felony possession of a controlled substance.[1]
Jones and one other former Arkansas football player, Jared Hicks, along with another person, Benjamin Cook, were inside a vehicle that was searched by police. The police found a plastic bag filled with a white substance that tested positive for cocaine (6 grams) and a jar with possible marijuana residue. Officers questioned Jones and he acknowledged the white powder was cocaine, the report said.[2] Jones' dad has refuted the allegations that his son was invlolved in any wrongdoing realeasing the statement "We want to make it clear that Matt was not in possession of any drugs, but that there were drugs in the vehicle and were located in the closest proximity to Matt," Steve Jones said in a statement Thursday posted on the Web site of KWNA television station in Fayetteville. "He does not claim any responsibility for the drugs.[3]