kevin
Guru
Ruud is in my opinion abetter athlete then both of them and most scouts would say the same, he looks like he will have a very prolific career in the NFL, and his younger brother bo looks like he will be playing on sundays too.
2005 NFL Draft
- Thread starter Don Wassall
- Start date
Two different sources I was listening to today are mentioning the possibility of the Steelers drafting Matt Jones with the 30th pick of the first round. The good news is that Jones is finally being mentioned as a possible first round pick. The bad news is that they were still calling him a "tight end or wide receiver."
Looking at the Bill Cowher era, my first reaction would be that Pittsburgh would be a terrible place for Jones to end up. But -- Cowher has mellowed some, plus the Steelers use their tight ends almost exclusively as blockers for the running game, so it would make no sense at all to take Jones in the first round and use him as a blocker. With the departure of Plaxico Burress, all three of their top receivers are on the small to very small side, so maybe they would develop Jones as a WR. It makes perfect sense, but common sense is often conspicuously lacking when it comes to the NFL and race.
Looking at the Bill Cowher era, my first reaction would be that Pittsburgh would be a terrible place for Jones to end up. But -- Cowher has mellowed some, plus the Steelers use their tight ends almost exclusively as blockers for the running game, so it would make no sense at all to take Jones in the first round and use him as a blocker. With the departure of Plaxico Burress, all three of their top receivers are on the small to very small side, so maybe they would develop Jones as a WR. It makes perfect sense, but common sense is often conspicuously lacking when it comes to the NFL and race.
Colonel_Reb
Hall of Famer
Sad but true Don. I hope your best case scenario works out for Matt. He deserves to be first round.
He got a small "spotlight" yesterday on Sportscenter, when Dan
Patrick asked Chris Mortensen who is the best athlete in the
draft. Mortensen said that there's a lot of "talk" about Jones,
and then mentioned his impressive numbers (ya know, the
4.37 forty and 40 inch vertical.)
Patrick asked Chris Mortensen who is the best athlete in the
draft. Mortensen said that there's a lot of "talk" about Jones,
and then mentioned his impressive numbers (ya know, the
4.37 forty and 40 inch vertical.)
Matt Jones keeps moving up the draft boards. I'd like to think we may have played a factor in that, but more realistically this guy's athleticism and potentialis so phenomenal and freakish that it can no longer be denied. ESPN's Chris Mortensen, one of the most respected voices in the corporate media, is now calling Jones the best athlete in the draft, and that hemay go early second or late first round. This is a great article, including where Jones is quoted as saying he doesn't want to play tight end. Let's hope he sticks to his guns. I can't wait to see a 6'6" receiver with 4.37 speed taking on the many lousy cornerbacks in the NFL, many of whom are smurf-sized.
[url]http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfl/draft05/columns/story?columnist =mortensen_chris&id=2025109 [/url]
<DIV =bylinetext>By Chris Mortensen, ESPN Insider
Chris Mortensen Archive
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Editor's note: Chris Mortensen's son, Alex, is a redshirt freshman quarterback at Arkansas in competition for Matt Jones' vacant position.
Steve Young, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer, has long told me that one of these days there will be a football player so unique, so gifted and so different that he will cause some consternation among the NFL types who judge and coach the most talented football players in the world.
"And it's going to be up to those people, especially some offensive coordinator, to think outside the box and figure out what to do with a guy like that," Young said.
He didn't know it at the time, but Young was talking about someone available in the 2005 NFL draft -- a guy I believe is the best player in the draft.
Matt Jones is that player. Yes, the Arkansas quarterback NFL evaluators have been struggling to figure out.
Some have called him the most "intriguing" player in the draft. Or, as one personnel director asked me last week, "How's The Freak?"
Jones is a freak. Let's just remind you of his measurables again, as now officially recorded from his scouting combine and pro day workouts.
Height: 6-6¼
Weight: 242
40 time (hand-timed): 4.37 and 4.39
40 time (electronic): 4.40
Vertical jump: 39.5 inches
Standing broad jump: 10 feet, 9 inches
Let me explain how to translate some of these numbers because Jones, for the most part, is being projected as a receiver/H-back instead of a quarterback.
<DIV =phinline>
<DIV style="WIDTH: 195px">
<DIV =photocred2>Dan Anderson/ESPN.com
<DIV =photosubtext>Matt Jones impressed scouts during the Senior Bowl.
Based on watching Jones perform during Senior Bowl week, when he unabashedly exposed himself to playing receiver, scouts wondered about one or two things: Was he quick and explosive enough to play outside? Honestly, if Jones was not as quick as they wanted that week, it was attributed to the fact that he was playing a new position.
Give him four months to work on nothing but receiver, and you'll see plenty of quickness. Trust me.
That's what the vertical and broad jump measure: Explosiveness. Jones was among the very top athletes. He is quick. He is explosive. He also had one of the fastest 10-yard times while running his 40. His short cone drills and shuttles were just as impressive.
His hands? I think he has the best hands in the draft. He's a basketball player, gifted enough after his junior football season at Arkansas to earn a starting spot on the basketball team within two weeks of his late arrival.
"We charted every pass thrown to him during the Senior Bowl week, and [he] caught all but one," one personnel director said.
So, as a receiver, he's bigger than Southern California's Mike Williams, he's faster, he's more explosive and he might have better hands.
Some NFL teams have tried to peg him as a tight end or H-back because of his size. Jones has been truthful with NFL teams that have spoken with him. He's reluctant to play tight end.
"You know, it's funny," one AFC head coach told me last week. "We asked [Jones] about putting on some weight and playing tight end, and he made it clear that he thought it was foolish. He said, 'So you want me to put on 20 pounds and be a 4.57 guy instead of a 4.37 guy?' When you put that into context, you have to admit he makes sense. Match up a 6-6 guy who is that fast and athletic with great hands on any corner - even the tall ones - and how do you stop him?"
It was evident during the NFL meetings last week in Hawaii that Jones is perhaps the fastest riser in the draft. Because of his position switch, he had been labeled as a second-day pick, probably a fourth-round selection.
He's not going on the second day. He's a better bet to go in the top half of the second round, and he could slip into the bottom third of the first round.
"How do you ignore him?" one AFC general manager said. "He's the best athlete in the draft. It may not even be close. Honestly, he's the most mesmerizing player I've ever evaluated."
I laughed when all the official numbers came in. Selfishly, they made me look good. When I spoke with a personnel man last fall about Jones, I asked him, "What are you going to do when he runs 4.4 at the combine?"
The personnel man replied, "Well, he's not going to do that." Yeah, go ahead, just keep doubting him.
As far as anyone knows, there's never been a 6-6 guy or a 242-pounder who ran 4.37 in the 40. Jones is both 6-6 and 242 pounds.
Some have warned of "workout" warriors, citing Mike Mamula of Boston College as one who fooled everyone about his NFL potential with gaudy workout numbers.
Mamula is a bad example to bring up when talking about Jones, though. For one, I would hardly classify Jones as a workout warrior. He could get out of bed and run 4.4.
Better than that, he was one of the most productive players in the history of the Southeastern Conference and basically was even-steven with Young, the BYU flash, as a player with one of the highest yards-per-play average in NCAA history.
For the past four years, SEC coaches and defenders have marveled at Jones' freakish ability to make plays - his 2,545 rushing yards set an SEC career mark for quarterbacks.
"He was the best player in the SEC the past two years," said Ron Zook, the ex-Florida coach now at Illinois. "Now that's a mouthful. Think about the guys who have played in the SEC the past couple of years."
Quickly, the names of Auburn's Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams, among so many others, leaped into my mind. The SEC is loaded with NFL-caliber players.
LSU coach Nick Saban said, "Matt Jones single-handedly won more games than any player in the SEC."
South Carolina coach Lou Holtz called Jones the "MVP" of the SEC.
Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom said, "I'm pretty sure I never have seen one like him, and I coached in [the NFL] for a lot of years. I'd take him, and ... real high."
Zook added, "Here's the thing about Matt Jones that people seem to forget because he is such a freak. He is one of the most productive players I've ever seen. It's all about productivity, and the bottom line is, this guy always makes plays and he makes' em when it counts and he makes 'em against everybody else's best players. He's a winner, he's productive and he's a freak. Our guys at Florida will tell you they never saw anything like him before and probably never will again."
Florida linebacker Channing Crowder, who should be a first-rounder next month, called Jones "a blazer, unbelievably fast," and nose guard Tommy Jackson said watching film of Jones and then stepping on the field against him was a lifetime experience.
"It's amazing that a guy that big, that strong and that fast is all in one person," Jackson said. "It's not fair."
Georgia coach Mark Richt called Jones the most deceptively fast player he had ever seen.
"On any given day, he could be the most dangerous player on the field, " Richt said. "You try to take good angles on the guy, and he's still past you."
Back to production. Arkansas quarterback coach Roy Wittke provided statistics that show Jones had 88 planned runs of 10 yards or more, 10 that were 50-plus yards. That didn't even count his 2004 stats, in which he had 33 scrambles on broken pass plays for 377 yards, an 11.4-yard average per carry.
When Saban said Jones "single-handedly" won more games than any player in the SEC, he also might have meant that Jones made almost every game competitive, even the defeats. He was the only returning starter on the Arkansas offense in 2004. The Razorbacks were just 5-6, the first losing season for coach Houston Nutt. But Jones kept the team alive in near misses against Texas, Georgia and Florida.
"This guy can make a play on you when you're doing as good as you can do," Alabama defensive coordinator Joe Kines said. "Texas had some pretty good people on the field, and they never laid a glove on him."
In fact, when legendary ABC play-by-play man Keith Jackson marveled over Vince Young's splendid performance in Texas' Rose Bowl win over Michigan, he wondered what planet Young was from and whether he had ever seen anybody like him. I chuckled. I had seen Jones, who was bigger, faster, more athletic and had a better arm than Young in their meeting when Texas squeaked out a 22-20 win over Arkansas early in the season. That night, Jones was again the best player on a field that included Young, not to mention Cedric Benson and Derrick Johnson, two Longhorns projected to go in the top 12 of next month's draft.
Jones was even more productive running the ball from the quarterback spot than Michael Vick was at Virginia Tech. Yet, even though Jones is more than a half-foot taller than Vick with almost identical 40 times (Vick ran a hand-timed 4.37 at his first mini-camp with the Falcons), NFL scouts have all but dismissed Jones as a quarterback prospect because he is unorthodox while Vick obviously throws lasers.
I think I'm OK with that thinking. Jones has a troubled right shoulder, which was hurt in his freshman year shortly after basketball season. The shoulder never allowed Jones to work at high volume at quarterback during practice, and it might have limited the team's passing game. But he still was pretty effective throwing the ball: He threw for almost 6,000 yards and 53 touchdowns in his career.
There is one other part of Jones that bothers some scouts. It's his somewhat lackadaisical body language. "Nonchalant" is what I've heard. Does he really love the game? Does it really matter to him?
Well, go back to that Texas game. Jones fumbled inside the Texas 20-yard line on an extra effort scramble in the final minutes. Arkansas probably wins the game if he doesn't fumble. He cried hard in a closed locker room after the game. His heart was broken.
A few weeks later, Arkansas got throttled by undefeated Auburn 38-20. It wasn't an upset, but when a few Arkansas players were a little too jovial on Jones' bus after the game, he snapped at them. Doesn't care? This is also a guy who passed up basketball - a game he truly loves - in his senior year to get ready for the NFL.
True, Jones is different. But that gene, or whatever it is, that projects this "nonchalance" is the same one that allowed him as a child to sleep through a tornado that ravaged his house in Fort Smith, Ark., according to his dad, Steve, who also was Matt's high school coach. It's the same calming gene that allowed Jones to thrive under pressure as a collegiate player.
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<TD>"</TD>
<TD width=225>How do you ignore him? He's the best athlete in the draft. It may not even be close. Honestly, he's the most mesmerizing player I've ever evaluated."</TD></TR>
<TR vAlign=top>
<TD width=4><SPACER width="3" height="1" ="block"></TD>
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<TD width=225>â€â€A general manager from an AFC club</TD></TR></T></TABLE>
Nutt, who admits Jones' personality tested him at times, loves to tell how Jones almost put him over the edge in the final minute of Arkansas' SEC West championship game against LSU in 2002. LSU led 20-13 with less than a minute to play. LSU was about to punt as Nutt sought out his quarterback.
"There he was, sitting back alone by the Gatorade, towel over his head, and as I get closer to him, Matt's singing to himself, or humming, 'do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do,'" Nutt says, recalling the hilarity of the moment. "I tell Matt, 'Come on, Matt, a little urgency here. We've got 37 seconds left, we gotta get the plays called, get in and out of the huddle, and get it done.'"
Jones looked at Nutt.
"No problem, coach," Jones said. "I got it."
Jones, who at that point was 2-of-13 passing against Saban's talented, tenacious defense, got the ball at his own 20. In three plays, including two perfectly thrown passes -- the latter a 31-yarder to Decori Birmingham with nine seconds left -- Jones led Arkansas for 80 yards in a stunning 21-20 victory that propelled the Razorbacks to the SEC title game.
"Darndest thing I ever saw," Nutt said.
Some athletes are just more graceful than others. Joe DiMaggio made baseball look easy. Pete Rose made it look like work. Jones is more DiMaggio than Rose.
Back to Steve Young's precept that it will take an offensive coordinator with the brains and brawn to use the gifts of a once-in-a-lifetime athlete best.
The red zone, whether you put the ball in Jones' hands as a receiver or a quarterback, would seem to be one obvious frontier.
Arkansas led the SEC in red zone scoring with 87.5 percent efficiency in 2004, and most of those scores were touchdowns.
The Razorbacks also had uncanny success and drama playing overtime games. In fact, Jones arrived on the national scene as a true freshman when he locked horns with Eli Manning in a classic seven-overtime game in which Arkansas beat Ole Miss 58-56. As a junior he led the Razorbacks to another seven-overtime win, 71-63 over Kentucky.
College overtimes are basically red zone games. The ball is given to each team at the opponents' 25.
"I just know this," Nutt said. "You put the ball [in] the kid's hands in those situations and he's going to find a way to win the game at any level. Red zone, or whatever. On any given play, he can run or pass for 80 yards."
Matt Jones won't be among the top 10 players selected in the April 23-24 draft, but I will venture to say that he'll play in more Pro Bowls than almost any of those guys.
And I will laugh, knowing I told you so. <OFFER>
ESPN's Chris Mortensen is a regular contributor to Insider. He chats every Wednesday in The Show.</TD></TR></T></TABLE>
[url]http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfl/draft05/columns/story?columnist =mortensen_chris&id=2025109 [/url]
<DIV =bylinetext>By Chris Mortensen, ESPN Insider
Chris Mortensen Archive
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Editor's note: Chris Mortensen's son, Alex, is a redshirt freshman quarterback at Arkansas in competition for Matt Jones' vacant position.
Steve Young, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer, has long told me that one of these days there will be a football player so unique, so gifted and so different that he will cause some consternation among the NFL types who judge and coach the most talented football players in the world.
"And it's going to be up to those people, especially some offensive coordinator, to think outside the box and figure out what to do with a guy like that," Young said.
He didn't know it at the time, but Young was talking about someone available in the 2005 NFL draft -- a guy I believe is the best player in the draft.
Matt Jones is that player. Yes, the Arkansas quarterback NFL evaluators have been struggling to figure out.
Some have called him the most "intriguing" player in the draft. Or, as one personnel director asked me last week, "How's The Freak?"
Jones is a freak. Let's just remind you of his measurables again, as now officially recorded from his scouting combine and pro day workouts.
Height: 6-6¼
Weight: 242
40 time (hand-timed): 4.37 and 4.39
40 time (electronic): 4.40
Vertical jump: 39.5 inches
Standing broad jump: 10 feet, 9 inches
Let me explain how to translate some of these numbers because Jones, for the most part, is being projected as a receiver/H-back instead of a quarterback.
<DIV =phinline>
<DIV style="WIDTH: 195px">
<DIV =photocred2>Dan Anderson/ESPN.com
<DIV =photosubtext>Matt Jones impressed scouts during the Senior Bowl.
Based on watching Jones perform during Senior Bowl week, when he unabashedly exposed himself to playing receiver, scouts wondered about one or two things: Was he quick and explosive enough to play outside? Honestly, if Jones was not as quick as they wanted that week, it was attributed to the fact that he was playing a new position.
Give him four months to work on nothing but receiver, and you'll see plenty of quickness. Trust me.
That's what the vertical and broad jump measure: Explosiveness. Jones was among the very top athletes. He is quick. He is explosive. He also had one of the fastest 10-yard times while running his 40. His short cone drills and shuttles were just as impressive.
His hands? I think he has the best hands in the draft. He's a basketball player, gifted enough after his junior football season at Arkansas to earn a starting spot on the basketball team within two weeks of his late arrival.
"We charted every pass thrown to him during the Senior Bowl week, and [he] caught all but one," one personnel director said.
So, as a receiver, he's bigger than Southern California's Mike Williams, he's faster, he's more explosive and he might have better hands.
Some NFL teams have tried to peg him as a tight end or H-back because of his size. Jones has been truthful with NFL teams that have spoken with him. He's reluctant to play tight end.
"You know, it's funny," one AFC head coach told me last week. "We asked [Jones] about putting on some weight and playing tight end, and he made it clear that he thought it was foolish. He said, 'So you want me to put on 20 pounds and be a 4.57 guy instead of a 4.37 guy?' When you put that into context, you have to admit he makes sense. Match up a 6-6 guy who is that fast and athletic with great hands on any corner - even the tall ones - and how do you stop him?"
It was evident during the NFL meetings last week in Hawaii that Jones is perhaps the fastest riser in the draft. Because of his position switch, he had been labeled as a second-day pick, probably a fourth-round selection.
He's not going on the second day. He's a better bet to go in the top half of the second round, and he could slip into the bottom third of the first round.
"How do you ignore him?" one AFC general manager said. "He's the best athlete in the draft. It may not even be close. Honestly, he's the most mesmerizing player I've ever evaluated."
I laughed when all the official numbers came in. Selfishly, they made me look good. When I spoke with a personnel man last fall about Jones, I asked him, "What are you going to do when he runs 4.4 at the combine?"
The personnel man replied, "Well, he's not going to do that." Yeah, go ahead, just keep doubting him.
As far as anyone knows, there's never been a 6-6 guy or a 242-pounder who ran 4.37 in the 40. Jones is both 6-6 and 242 pounds.
Some have warned of "workout" warriors, citing Mike Mamula of Boston College as one who fooled everyone about his NFL potential with gaudy workout numbers.
Mamula is a bad example to bring up when talking about Jones, though. For one, I would hardly classify Jones as a workout warrior. He could get out of bed and run 4.4.
Better than that, he was one of the most productive players in the history of the Southeastern Conference and basically was even-steven with Young, the BYU flash, as a player with one of the highest yards-per-play average in NCAA history.
For the past four years, SEC coaches and defenders have marveled at Jones' freakish ability to make plays - his 2,545 rushing yards set an SEC career mark for quarterbacks.
"He was the best player in the SEC the past two years," said Ron Zook, the ex-Florida coach now at Illinois. "Now that's a mouthful. Think about the guys who have played in the SEC the past couple of years."
Quickly, the names of Auburn's Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams, among so many others, leaped into my mind. The SEC is loaded with NFL-caliber players.
LSU coach Nick Saban said, "Matt Jones single-handedly won more games than any player in the SEC."
South Carolina coach Lou Holtz called Jones the "MVP" of the SEC.
Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom said, "I'm pretty sure I never have seen one like him, and I coached in [the NFL] for a lot of years. I'd take him, and ... real high."
Zook added, "Here's the thing about Matt Jones that people seem to forget because he is such a freak. He is one of the most productive players I've ever seen. It's all about productivity, and the bottom line is, this guy always makes plays and he makes' em when it counts and he makes 'em against everybody else's best players. He's a winner, he's productive and he's a freak. Our guys at Florida will tell you they never saw anything like him before and probably never will again."
Florida linebacker Channing Crowder, who should be a first-rounder next month, called Jones "a blazer, unbelievably fast," and nose guard Tommy Jackson said watching film of Jones and then stepping on the field against him was a lifetime experience.
"It's amazing that a guy that big, that strong and that fast is all in one person," Jackson said. "It's not fair."
Georgia coach Mark Richt called Jones the most deceptively fast player he had ever seen.
"On any given day, he could be the most dangerous player on the field, " Richt said. "You try to take good angles on the guy, and he's still past you."
Back to production. Arkansas quarterback coach Roy Wittke provided statistics that show Jones had 88 planned runs of 10 yards or more, 10 that were 50-plus yards. That didn't even count his 2004 stats, in which he had 33 scrambles on broken pass plays for 377 yards, an 11.4-yard average per carry.
When Saban said Jones "single-handedly" won more games than any player in the SEC, he also might have meant that Jones made almost every game competitive, even the defeats. He was the only returning starter on the Arkansas offense in 2004. The Razorbacks were just 5-6, the first losing season for coach Houston Nutt. But Jones kept the team alive in near misses against Texas, Georgia and Florida.
"This guy can make a play on you when you're doing as good as you can do," Alabama defensive coordinator Joe Kines said. "Texas had some pretty good people on the field, and they never laid a glove on him."
In fact, when legendary ABC play-by-play man Keith Jackson marveled over Vince Young's splendid performance in Texas' Rose Bowl win over Michigan, he wondered what planet Young was from and whether he had ever seen anybody like him. I chuckled. I had seen Jones, who was bigger, faster, more athletic and had a better arm than Young in their meeting when Texas squeaked out a 22-20 win over Arkansas early in the season. That night, Jones was again the best player on a field that included Young, not to mention Cedric Benson and Derrick Johnson, two Longhorns projected to go in the top 12 of next month's draft.
Jones was even more productive running the ball from the quarterback spot than Michael Vick was at Virginia Tech. Yet, even though Jones is more than a half-foot taller than Vick with almost identical 40 times (Vick ran a hand-timed 4.37 at his first mini-camp with the Falcons), NFL scouts have all but dismissed Jones as a quarterback prospect because he is unorthodox while Vick obviously throws lasers.
I think I'm OK with that thinking. Jones has a troubled right shoulder, which was hurt in his freshman year shortly after basketball season. The shoulder never allowed Jones to work at high volume at quarterback during practice, and it might have limited the team's passing game. But he still was pretty effective throwing the ball: He threw for almost 6,000 yards and 53 touchdowns in his career.
There is one other part of Jones that bothers some scouts. It's his somewhat lackadaisical body language. "Nonchalant" is what I've heard. Does he really love the game? Does it really matter to him?
Well, go back to that Texas game. Jones fumbled inside the Texas 20-yard line on an extra effort scramble in the final minutes. Arkansas probably wins the game if he doesn't fumble. He cried hard in a closed locker room after the game. His heart was broken.
A few weeks later, Arkansas got throttled by undefeated Auburn 38-20. It wasn't an upset, but when a few Arkansas players were a little too jovial on Jones' bus after the game, he snapped at them. Doesn't care? This is also a guy who passed up basketball - a game he truly loves - in his senior year to get ready for the NFL.
True, Jones is different. But that gene, or whatever it is, that projects this "nonchalance" is the same one that allowed him as a child to sleep through a tornado that ravaged his house in Fort Smith, Ark., according to his dad, Steve, who also was Matt's high school coach. It's the same calming gene that allowed Jones to thrive under pressure as a collegiate player.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 align=right>
<T>
<TR vAlign=top>
<TD width=4><SPACER width="3" height="1" ="block"></TD>
<TD>"</TD>
<TD width=225>How do you ignore him? He's the best athlete in the draft. It may not even be close. Honestly, he's the most mesmerizing player I've ever evaluated."</TD></TR>
<TR vAlign=top>
<TD width=4><SPACER width="3" height="1" ="block"></TD>
<TD></TD>
<TD width=225>â€â€A general manager from an AFC club</TD></TR></T></TABLE>
Nutt, who admits Jones' personality tested him at times, loves to tell how Jones almost put him over the edge in the final minute of Arkansas' SEC West championship game against LSU in 2002. LSU led 20-13 with less than a minute to play. LSU was about to punt as Nutt sought out his quarterback.
"There he was, sitting back alone by the Gatorade, towel over his head, and as I get closer to him, Matt's singing to himself, or humming, 'do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do,'" Nutt says, recalling the hilarity of the moment. "I tell Matt, 'Come on, Matt, a little urgency here. We've got 37 seconds left, we gotta get the plays called, get in and out of the huddle, and get it done.'"
Jones looked at Nutt.
"No problem, coach," Jones said. "I got it."
Jones, who at that point was 2-of-13 passing against Saban's talented, tenacious defense, got the ball at his own 20. In three plays, including two perfectly thrown passes -- the latter a 31-yarder to Decori Birmingham with nine seconds left -- Jones led Arkansas for 80 yards in a stunning 21-20 victory that propelled the Razorbacks to the SEC title game.
"Darndest thing I ever saw," Nutt said.
Some athletes are just more graceful than others. Joe DiMaggio made baseball look easy. Pete Rose made it look like work. Jones is more DiMaggio than Rose.
Back to Steve Young's precept that it will take an offensive coordinator with the brains and brawn to use the gifts of a once-in-a-lifetime athlete best.
The red zone, whether you put the ball in Jones' hands as a receiver or a quarterback, would seem to be one obvious frontier.
Arkansas led the SEC in red zone scoring with 87.5 percent efficiency in 2004, and most of those scores were touchdowns.
The Razorbacks also had uncanny success and drama playing overtime games. In fact, Jones arrived on the national scene as a true freshman when he locked horns with Eli Manning in a classic seven-overtime game in which Arkansas beat Ole Miss 58-56. As a junior he led the Razorbacks to another seven-overtime win, 71-63 over Kentucky.
College overtimes are basically red zone games. The ball is given to each team at the opponents' 25.
"I just know this," Nutt said. "You put the ball [in] the kid's hands in those situations and he's going to find a way to win the game at any level. Red zone, or whatever. On any given play, he can run or pass for 80 yards."
Matt Jones won't be among the top 10 players selected in the April 23-24 draft, but I will venture to say that he'll play in more Pro Bowls than almost any of those guys.
And I will laugh, knowing I told you so. <OFFER>
ESPN's Chris Mortensen is a regular contributor to Insider. He chats every Wednesday in The Show.</TD></TR></T></TABLE>
white lightning
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2004
- Messages
- 21,463
Thanks for the article.Damn did that get me pumped up.
We are seeing a Superman by the name of Matt Jones.
He is from another planet with his unbelievable talent.
I can't wait to see him play on Sundays!
We are seeing a Superman by the name of Matt Jones.
He is from another planet with his unbelievable talent.
I can't wait to see him play on Sundays!
okra63
Guru
Matt Jones is an incredible athlete and if allowed to practice one position he will undeniablly be the best at it. He is Superman.
White Shogun
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2005
- Messages
- 6,285
I hate to read an article like that and pick out this kind of statement: "... and obviously Vick throws lasers.""
Was Mort being sarcastic?
Vick's completion % is in the mid-50th percentile.
That's a laser?
No wonder the Star Wars missle defense system never got off the ground.
Who wants to spend billions on a project that is accurate only
half the time?
Was Mort being sarcastic?
Vick's completion % is in the mid-50th percentile.
That's a laser?
No wonder the Star Wars missle defense system never got off the ground.
Who wants to spend billions on a project that is accurate only
half the time?
Just saw a story on the NFL Network about how Matt Jones wowed everyone
with his workouts. He is now said to be a late first round pick. Still,
the "expert" they interviewed said that Jones "is a Joe Jurevicious
type" of player, who "will probably be best suited for the slot." Why
didn't he just drop the code words and say, "Look, he's the fastest
player at his size in the history of the game, but he will be lucky to
be a 3rd WR for some team because of his pigmentation disorder." This
is a complete joke; Jones should be the first player drafted overall,
without question.
with his workouts. He is now said to be a late first round pick. Still,
the "expert" they interviewed said that Jones "is a Joe Jurevicious
type" of player, who "will probably be best suited for the slot." Why
didn't he just drop the code words and say, "Look, he's the fastest
player at his size in the history of the game, but he will be lucky to
be a 3rd WR for some team because of his pigmentation disorder." This
is a complete joke; Jones should be the first player drafted overall,
without question.
Nice to see Mortensen break the media rules and drool over Matt Jones 'athleticism. Interestingly he correctly notes how Young the QB out of Texas was cited much more often for having speed etcc.. If Jones were black he would probably be on the cover of SI or at least warrent a feature story. That said I would take Alex Smith and Dan Cody ahead of Matt but chances are they will be taken early so for sure if I was drafting I would take Matt in the first round. Please note if they decide to turn him into a TE(bad move) it will take time anyway. What I would do is probably groom him at WR for a year, let him see some playing time but really get him ready for the long haul. Same goes for Chase Lymon who is coming off injury. Draft him in the first round or so and then give him a year to fully recover. Lets see if Matt starts getting first round attention. GO MATT!!!!
Matt McCoy, an outside linebacker from San Diego State, wasn't even invited to the Combine, but Mel Kiper now has him projected as going to Seattle in the second round. That's a meteoric rise by McCoy.
Let's see, Seattle has signed Joe Jurevicius, is working out Jesse Lumsden and may draft a white linebacker in an early round again this year after taking Niko Koutouvides from Purdue in '04. Is it possible that Caste System stalwart Mike Holmgren is actually starting to mellow a bit?
Let's see, Seattle has signed Joe Jurevicius, is working out Jesse Lumsden and may draft a white linebacker in an early round again this year after taking Niko Koutouvides from Purdue in '04. Is it possible that Caste System stalwart Mike Holmgren is actually starting to mellow a bit?
white lightning
Hall of Famer
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- Oct 16, 2004
- Messages
- 21,463
McCoy is an excellent linebacker.He shocked the scouts
with his workout.His speed is incredible.What is it with
all of these guys with blonde hair that can run.I hope
they don't eventually do to him what they did to Kevin
Kasper.I rememeber you commenting that he was too white
for them with his pale skin & blonde hair.Same with Josh
McCown of the Cardinals.Who cares if they have green
hair if they have talent and can run!Wake up nfl.That
is good news Don.
with his workout.His speed is incredible.What is it with
all of these guys with blonde hair that can run.I hope
they don't eventually do to him what they did to Kevin
Kasper.I rememeber you commenting that he was too white
for them with his pale skin & blonde hair.Same with Josh
McCown of the Cardinals.Who cares if they have green
hair if they have talent and can run!Wake up nfl.That
is good news Don.
For the first time, Matt Jones has moved up to the first round in Mel Kiper's latest mock draft. He has Jones going 31st to the Eagles. Here's his capsule summary of Jones:
"Jones is shooting up the draft board after posting a 4.39 in the 40 at 6-foot-6, 240 pounds. He will have a tough transition to make from quarterback to wide receiver, but a championship-caliber team like the Eagles can afford to give him time to work his way into a new position. He looked like a fifth-round pick after the college season but his great workouts have helped immensely. "
I checked out one of the message boards for Rams fans recently and they werevery excited about Jones. I wouldn't be surprised if a team like St. Louis or even Denver takes him before it gets to Philly. Pittsburgh might also at number 30. This guy is so athletic that a lot of white football fans seem to be interested in what happens to him. When was the last time that happened with a white player on offense who wasn't a quarterback?
"Jones is shooting up the draft board after posting a 4.39 in the 40 at 6-foot-6, 240 pounds. He will have a tough transition to make from quarterback to wide receiver, but a championship-caliber team like the Eagles can afford to give him time to work his way into a new position. He looked like a fifth-round pick after the college season but his great workouts have helped immensely. "
I checked out one of the message boards for Rams fans recently and they werevery excited about Jones. I wouldn't be surprised if a team like St. Louis or even Denver takes him before it gets to Philly. Pittsburgh might also at number 30. This guy is so athletic that a lot of white football fans seem to be interested in what happens to him. When was the last time that happened with a white player on offense who wasn't a quarterback?
Mel Kiper has five wide receivers projected to be taken in the second round. Look at how very pedestrian at best the college stats of each of them are:
Roscoe Parrish of Miami (projected as the 36th overall pick): 340 receiving yards in '02, 322 in '03 and 693 in '04.
Jerome Mathis of Hampton (37th overall pick): 615 yards in '02, 977 in '03, 864 in '04.
Mark Bradley of Oklahoma (46th): 194 yards in '03, 491 in '04.
Roydell Williams of Tulane (47th): 886 receiving yards in '01, 151 in '02, 1,006 in '03, and 826 in '04.
Reggie Brown of Georgia (61st): 47 yards in '01, 296 in '02, 662 in '03, and 860 in '04.
That's one 1,000 yard season total for all five receivers combinedfor their college careers yet they are rewarded by being made into high NFL draft picks. Yet white receivers who are truly productive in college and are fast and athletic to boot, are never high draft picks. Isn't it amazing the abilities miraculously conferred on black football players solely by virtue of their racial background. . .
Roscoe Parrish of Miami (projected as the 36th overall pick): 340 receiving yards in '02, 322 in '03 and 693 in '04.
Jerome Mathis of Hampton (37th overall pick): 615 yards in '02, 977 in '03, 864 in '04.
Mark Bradley of Oklahoma (46th): 194 yards in '03, 491 in '04.
Roydell Williams of Tulane (47th): 886 receiving yards in '01, 151 in '02, 1,006 in '03, and 826 in '04.
Reggie Brown of Georgia (61st): 47 yards in '01, 296 in '02, 662 in '03, and 860 in '04.
That's one 1,000 yard season total for all five receivers combinedfor their college careers yet they are rewarded by being made into high NFL draft picks. Yet white receivers who are truly productive in college and are fast and athletic to boot, are never high draft picks. Isn't it amazing the abilities miraculously conferred on black football players solely by virtue of their racial background. . .
Matt Cutaia out of UCONN ran a 4.35 on pro day. This is news to most people since it was not reported. He is a 5'11" WR who played off and on during his career. I guess the NFL will not draft him. He was even ignored at UCONN during his career. Go figure. Also I mentioned him before but the best pure athlete in the draft might be New Mexico's LBNick Speegle. You always here the term raw when applied to black athletes but this guy has the potenntial to dominate in the NFL. Seen as a second day draft pick teams should be advised to pass this guy up attheir own peril. A near 40 inch vertical and 4.5 speed in a 6'6 250 plus frame with long limbs. Diamond in the rough if you ask me. And evertime I saw New Mexico play this guy was all over the friggen field.
G
Guest
Guest
i agree with you sunshine on speegle. how is he with those kinds of numbers going to be drafted on the second day? 4.5 speed, 40 inch vertical on a 6'6 250 frame. the good news in my opinion is that all these advancements in modern workouts(even without steroids) speed schools and nutrition is helping white athletes to devolop those fast twitch muscle fibers we are told we do not have. most people just turning to this website would think that this was a racist site because of mostly the talk about the white athlete. but i tend to root for the underdog in any situation. a black republican i will vote for and root for because of the heat he/she takes from their own community for thinking for themselves. black doctors , engineers, astronauts are all good things as long as they are earned outright by talent , intelligence and hard work. that is the same reason i root for the white athlete, he is often the underdog and i just want a fair chance for him to succeed. i am a jewish christian by the way and who knows more about racism and persecution than those two groups?
Isn't it amazing the abilities miraculously conferred on black
football players solely by virtue of their racial background. . .
That completely and utterly sums up the entire problem, Don.
I watched the Draft Day Special show on ESPNU today, and
Kiper has Mike Williams as the top prospect in the entire draft.
He said that he has "better than 4.6 speed" and Salisbury said
that he's "almost 6-3". In other words he runs a 4.57 40 and
he's 6-2. And we're supposed to be salivating over this? Give
me a break. Meanwhile Matt Jones is taller, faster, and had an
exceptional collegiate career- albeit at a different position, but
he was a great athlete and playmaker at that position.
It was nice to see Merrill Hoge play the devil's advocate,
criticizing his explosiveness and physicality. Usually those
criticisms are reserved for our guys.
football players solely by virtue of their racial background. . .
That completely and utterly sums up the entire problem, Don.
I watched the Draft Day Special show on ESPNU today, and
Kiper has Mike Williams as the top prospect in the entire draft.
He said that he has "better than 4.6 speed" and Salisbury said
that he's "almost 6-3". In other words he runs a 4.57 40 and
he's 6-2. And we're supposed to be salivating over this? Give
me a break. Meanwhile Matt Jones is taller, faster, and had an
exceptional collegiate career- albeit at a different position, but
he was a great athlete and playmaker at that position.
It was nice to see Merrill Hoge play the devil's advocate,
criticizing his explosiveness and physicality. Usually those
criticisms are reserved for our guys.
BTW, I did a Google search for Mike Williams' 40 yd time and
found this nugget:
http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2005/williams_mike
"Positives: Tall, long-limbed with a well-developed, muscular
frame, good bubble, tight waist and thick thighs and calves ..."
What is this, a bodybuilding contest? And what's a "good
bubble"? So he's muscular, big deal. It's this type of
superficial thinking that hurts white players. They "don't look
the part." It's almost like a "slavemaster mentality" where
everybody's looking for big, muscular blacks to work the fields,
and completely overlook talented whites in the process.
found this nugget:
http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2005/williams_mike
"Positives: Tall, long-limbed with a well-developed, muscular
frame, good bubble, tight waist and thick thighs and calves ..."
What is this, a bodybuilding contest? And what's a "good
bubble"? So he's muscular, big deal. It's this type of
superficial thinking that hurts white players. They "don't look
the part." It's almost like a "slavemaster mentality" where
everybody's looking for big, muscular blacks to work the fields,
and completely overlook talented whites in the process.
White Shogun
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2005
- Messages
- 6,285
JD074 said:
Seems like they're working on that public homosexual athlete agenda, with that description.
I've known a few girls who had a bubble where their brain was supposed to be. Maybe that's what they're referring to when they say Williams has a "good bubble."
I mistakenly mentioned Maryland's Steve Suter was a junior. I guess he is eligible for this draft. Suter had a great 2003 season as kick/punt returner while also being effective as a WR. This past season he was hit with some injuries thus his production fell off. Funny thing is there has been zero draft buzz. Suter ,like Dan Sheldon, is on the short side but he is very quick. 4.3 , 45" vertical or so and very strong to boot. If healthy he could become a top shelf return man in the NFL. Only thing I can decipher is injuries have caused the draft gurus to back down. No acl tear though so not sure why no one is talking about him.
And as for the quote above what in the world is a bubble? A big behind? Mike Williams seemed slow to me when I saw him play. No faster than Keyshawn when he was in college. What is the big attraction with this guy. Looks like a TE to me.
And as for the quote above what in the world is a bubble? A big behind? Mike Williams seemed slow to me when I saw him play. No faster than Keyshawn when he was in college. What is the big attraction with this guy. Looks like a TE to me.
Here's a capsule summary of Suter's draft prospects courtesy of SI.com. It appears poor Steve lacks speed. Apparently all those black guys he was beating downfield on kickoffs can't break 5.0 in the 40.
BIO: Part-time starter at receiver the past three years, primarily used a special teams player. Caught 23/270 in .04, also averaging 24.1 yards on 15 kick returns. All-Conference special teams player as a junior after a 23.4 yard average on kick returns.
POSITIVES: Athletic skill player who flashes ability handling the ball. Goes over the middle, looks to pass into his hands and shields opponents away from the play. Possesses strong hands and very quick transitioning from making the reception to running after the catch. Finds the soft spot in the defense. Elusive and slippery running with the ball. Displays focus and timing as both a receiver and return specialist.
NEGATIVES: Lacks the pure breakaway speed. Does not stretch the defense as a receiver or run away from opponents as a return specialist.
ANALYSIS: An under-sized pass catcher by collegiate standards, Suter must make his mark in the NFL as a kick returner.
PROJECTION: Undrafted Free Agent
BIO: Part-time starter at receiver the past three years, primarily used a special teams player. Caught 23/270 in .04, also averaging 24.1 yards on 15 kick returns. All-Conference special teams player as a junior after a 23.4 yard average on kick returns.
POSITIVES: Athletic skill player who flashes ability handling the ball. Goes over the middle, looks to pass into his hands and shields opponents away from the play. Possesses strong hands and very quick transitioning from making the reception to running after the catch. Finds the soft spot in the defense. Elusive and slippery running with the ball. Displays focus and timing as both a receiver and return specialist.
NEGATIVES: Lacks the pure breakaway speed. Does not stretch the defense as a receiver or run away from opponents as a return specialist.
ANALYSIS: An under-sized pass catcher by collegiate standards, Suter must make his mark in the NFL as a kick returner.
PROJECTION: Undrafted Free Agent
Here we go again, the hype-masters are trying their best to push this guy to the front of the pack.
<TABLE =yspwhitebg id=yspTopStoryModule cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%">
<T>
<TR>
<TD =yspleadhdln colSpan=3 height=22>Yo Adrian: McPherson could be the champ</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD =ysptimedate vAlign=top>
No prospect matches McPherson's skills. (AP) </TD>
<TD noWrap width=9></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="100%">Adrian McPherson could end up being the 2005 draft's top QB, not Aaron Rodgers or Alex Smith, Charles Robinson writes. </TD></TR></T></TABLE>
<TABLE =yspwhitebg id=yspTopStoryModule cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%">
<T>
<TR>
<TD =yspleadhdln colSpan=3 height=22>Yo Adrian: McPherson could be the champ</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD =ysptimedate vAlign=top>
No prospect matches McPherson's skills. (AP) </TD>
<TD noWrap width=9></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="100%">Adrian McPherson could end up being the 2005 draft's top QB, not Aaron Rodgers or Alex Smith, Charles Robinson writes. </TD></TR></T></TABLE>