From the Sports Chest: Matt Jones Graded Topps Rookie Football Card, 2005

2005 – Matt Jones will always be a larger-than-life Razorback athlete to me. I like to refer to him as the “Golden Child”. He must be the first person in NCAA history who threw a touchdown on his first football pass and threw down a dunk on this first basketball shot. No one else could pull that off and at times it seemed like Matt could do whatever he wanted. Somehow, when I think of Matt Jones I can only recall the amazing “did that really just happen?” type plays he was famous for. I still wonder what would have happened if Matt had played wide receiver and Tarvaris Jackson had been given the quarterback job. Houston Nutt knew he had a special playmaker in Jones and wanted to keep the ball in his hands as much as possible. Nevertheless, Jones’ NFL career might have been a different story had he played 3 or 4 years at wideout prior to being drafted 21^st overall in 2005 by the Jacksonville Jaguars. I found this card on eBay a few years back and picked it up at a bargain basement price. Jones has since retired from the NFL after a short and relatively pedestrian career (by Matt Jones standards). But for me, he’ll be remembered for being one of the most amazing & exciting athletes to ever take the gridiron for the Arkansas Razorbacks.