Background:   Jones spent the first three years of his prep career at Van Buren (AR) High School, splitting time as a junior between quarterback and receiver, gaining 520 yards and five touchdowns on 22 receptions while also becoming a finalist for McDonald’s All America Honors in basketball, breaking former Arkansas All America basketball player Corliss Williamson’s conference record for single season scoring average (24.5 points per game avg.).  Jones then transferred to Northside (Fort Smith, AR) High School for his senior year, earning All-Arkansas honors as a quarterback, completing 62 of 137 passes for 830 yards and seven touchdowns and 939 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns on 105 rushing attempts while ranking in the top five statewide in punt returns.

The 6-6, 242 pound athlete was a four year letterman in football at the University of Arkansas while moonlighting for two seasons on the Razorbacks basketball team.  Jones set school season and career rushing records for a quarterback in 2003 with 633 yards and eight touchdowns on 89 carries (7.1 avg.) while passing for 1,917 yards, 18 touchdowns and only seven interceptions becoming an All-American selection as an all-purpose back by the NFL Draft Report and All-SEC second team as a quarterback by the league’s coaches.  Jones was a career total yardage Hog, racking up 8,392 yards (smashing Clint Stoerner’s previous record of 7,049) while accumulating 77 touchdowns, bumping Stoerner again, from the top of the school’s all-time touchdown list.

Lost in the many records and padded statistics was the clutch leadership intangible that Jones displayed time and time again, rescuing the razorbacks countless times in big games, including coming off the bench in the fourth quarter to amass 171 yards of total offense in the seven overtime thriller over Ole Miss in 2001 and what’s considered in Arkansas country the most memorable Matt moment, the surreal comeback against LSU, after trailing 17-7 with 5:34 left in the third quarter, that ended with Jones finding DeCori Birmingham between a two defender sandwich for a 31 yard scoring strike with nine seconds left, giving Arkansas an improbable 21-20 win over LSU and the opportunity for the Razorbacks to play in the 2002 Southeastern Conference championship game.

After pre-draft workout numbers of 4.37 in the forty yard dash, vertical leap of 39.5 inches and a broad jump of 10’9”, Jones created a buzz amongst NFL scouts with his rare blend of size and speed and inspired the Jaguars to select him 21st overall in 2005, despite not having a clear cut position.

Even though Jones started the 2005 season as the third receiver in an lethargic Jaguars passing attack, he flashed his big play ability with all five of his receiving touchdowns going 20 yards or more with 432 receiving yards on 36 catches and he added 51 yards rushing on 12 carries and completed two of three passing attempts for 12 yards.

What’s new for 2006:   Jack Del Rio has maintained that he is not looking for free agent help with his receiving corps and he believes players like Jones, Reggie Williams and Ernest Wilford will continue to improve as Jimmy Smith has ended his long and productive career.  The former Razorback has the most upside out of Jacksonville’s young pass-catchers and offensive coordinator Carl Smith will continue to explore ways to get Jones as many in-game touches as possible. That being said, the second year receiver probably remains a year or two away from being a week-to-week scoring threat, but seven touchdowns and 7-800 receiving yards isn’t out of the question for this season.

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