2024 Football Roster
Roster
Matt Jones
- Position:
- Linebacker
- Height:
- 6-4
- Weight:
- 246
- Class:
- Sixth Year
- Hometown:
- Odessa, Texas
- High School:
- Odessa Permian HS
CAREER HONORS
• 2024 First-Team All-Big 12 (Coaches, AP) – LB
• Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll - Spring 2022
• 2022 All-Big 12 Fourth Team (Phil Steele)
• 2022 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention (Coaches)
• 2022 Second-Team Academic All-Big 12
2024 (Sixth-Year Senior): Started all 13 games … Named first-team All-Big 12 by the league coaches and the Associated Press … Made 113 tackles, including 9.5 for a loss with four sacks, adding a forced fumble, fumble recovery, five QB hurries and six pass break-ups … Had seven 10+ tackle games … Finished his career with 328 tackles, ranking eighth-most in program history … Joined Keaton Thomas as the first Baylor linebacker duo with 100+ tackles in a season since 2012 … 199 career solo tackles ranked eighth in program history … Finished career with 35 tackles for a loss, ranking seventh in Baylor history … Had 12 career sacks to rank 12th in program history … Opened the year with seven tackles, including a TFL, vs. Tarleton … Had 10 tackles and a pass break-up at Utah … Made 13 tackles, with one TFL, vs. Air Force … Had 10 tackles, a TFL, sack and QB hurry at Colorado … Had four tackles and a PBU vs. BYU … Made six tackles, including 1.5 for a loss, with a QB hurry at Iowa State … Made 10 tackles, including a sack, with two pass break-ups at Texas Tech … Made 12 tackles, including three TFs, one sack and one forced fumble vs. OSU … Had 10 tackles – his third straight game with 10+ - with a QB hurry and a PBU vs. TCU … Made six tackles with a sack, QB hurry and PBU at WVU … Made seven tackles with a QB hurry at Houston … Had eight tackles with a fumble recovery vs. Kansas … Charted 10 tackles in the Texas Bowl vs. LSU.
2023 (Redshirt Senior): Started all 12 games and led the team with 82 tackles … Had a team-leading 11.5 tackles for a loss, with three sacks, five pass break-ups and one QB hurry … Charted a pair of 10+ tackle efforts … Opened the year with five tackles in the opener vs. Texas State … Had 10 tackles and two pass break-ups vs. No. 12/12 Utah … Had three stops vs. Long Island … Had eight tackles, 3.5 for a loss and two sacks vs. No. 3/6 Texas … Had eight tackles, 3.5 for a loss and one QB hurry in the comeback at UCF, despite battling a stomach illness during the game … Had eight tackles and one TFL vs. Texas Tech … Went for eight tackles, including one for a loss and broke up two passes at Cincinnati … Had five tackles vs. Iowa State … Had four tackles vs. Houston and four at No. 25 Kansas State … Had 11 tackles, including one for a loss and one sack, breaking up a pass at TCU … Had eight stops, including 1.5 for a loss, vs. West Virginia.
2022 (Redshirt Junior): Named four-team All-Big 12 by Phil Steele and was an honorable mention selection by the league coaches … Second-Team Academic All-Big 12 ... Started all 12 games he played in at inside linebacker, missing the game at No. 23 Texas due to injury … Totaled 65 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, with two QB hurries and four pass break-ups … Finished with multiple tackles in all 12 of his games … Had four tackles in the season opener vs. UAlbany … Went for nine tackles, including a sack and a pass break-up at No. 21 BYU … Had five tackles, including a half sack and a tackle for a loss in a win over Texas State … Finished with four tackles, including a pass break-up and a tackle for a loss in a win at Iowa State … Had six stops and a QB hurry vs. No. 7 Oklahoma State … Finished with three tackles and two pass break-ups at West Virginia … Had two stops vs. Kansas ... In a return home to his region of West Texas, had four tackles and half a sack at Texas Tech, a 45-17 rout … Went for seven tackles in a win at Oklahoma … Had two stops vs. No. 4 TCU … Notched his season-high 10 tackles vs. Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.
2021 (Redshirt Sophomore): Played in 14 games with nine starts … Finished fifth on the team with 52 tackles … Was fourth on the team with 6.5 sacks … Had three tackles and a quarterback hurry in the season opener at Texas State (9/4) … Notched the first full sack of his career and had a pass breakup against Texas Southern (9/11) … Had four tackles (1.0 for loss) at Kansas 9/18) … Set a then-career high with five tackles and had a QB hurry against Iowa State (9/25) … Continued his breakout season with a career game at Oklahoma State (10/2), collecting career-highs in total tackles (14), solo tackles (6), assisted tackles (8), TFL (2.0) and forced his career-first fumble … Registered five tackles and a QB hurry against West Virginia (10/9) … Made three solo tackles against BYU (10/16) … Had two tackles against Texas (10/30) … Played but did not record a stat at TCU (11/6) … Recorded two tackles (1.5 for loss), a sack and a forced fumble against Oklahoma (11/13) … Notched two tackles at Kansas State (11/20) … Made one tackle and had a quarterback hurry against Texas Tech (11/27) … Registered his career-first interception, forced a fumble, had a QB hurry and made five tackles in the Big 12 Championship game vs. Oklahoma State (12/4) … Had three tackles and a pass breakup against Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl (1/1).
2020 (Redshirt Freshman): Ended 2020 with 11 tackles, including 2.0 tackles-for-loss in eight games played ... Totaled two tackles in the opener vs. Kansas (9/26) ... Had one solo tackle in the game versus West Virginia (10/3) ... Saw time at Texas (10/24), did not record a stat ... Had two tackles, including one for a loss against TCU (10/31) ... Had one tackle-for-loss at Iowa State (11/7) ... Tallied two tackles at Texas Tech (11/14) ... Had another two-tackle game vs. K-State (11/28) ... One tackle in the loss at Oklahoma (12/5) ... Did not play vs. OSU (12/12).
2019 (Freshman): Redshirted, appeared in three games on the year ... Had 1 tackle at Kansas (Nov. 30) ... Tallied 1 tackle vs. UTSA (Sept. 7) ... Made his Baylor debut vs. SFA (Aug. 31), tallying a career-high 3 tackles, including half a sack.
High School: Played at Odessa Permian High School for coach Jeff Ellison … 65 tackles and 14.0 sacks as a senior … Added 27.0 tackles for loss, three breakups and two forced fumbles … Helped Permian to an 8-4 record and second round of playoffs … 2018 District 2-6A Defensive Player of the Year … Three-time All-District selection … 2017 6A All-State honoree … Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Tops in Texas second team … Rated three stars by ESPN … No. 62 player in Texas … No. 36 outside linebacker nationally … 247 Sports rates as three-star commit … No. 66 player in Texas … No. 35 outside linebacker in US … Three-star recruit according to Rivals … Chose Baylor over Illinois and Texas Tech.
Personal: Son of Gabe and Kim Jones … majoring in sociology.
