Who is Matt Jones? Why broadcasters called out Ole Miss RB for 'blatant fake injury' vs. Kentucky

Ole Miss hosted Kentucky in the Rebels' first SEC matchup of the year on Saturday. Despite the 2-2 Wildcats leading their No. 6-ranked hosts at the half, one of the biggest stories of the game at the time was an apparent injury to Ole Miss running back Matt Jones.

Well, that might not be the best way to describe it.

With under 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter and the Rebels holding a 7-3 lead, coach Lane Kiffin tried to switch to a hurry-up offense in an effort to take advantage of the Kentucky defense. But the officials called timeout, thwarting Ole Miss' efforts.

After the timeout, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart appeared to point towards Jones, seemingly telling him to fall down to further delay the game. ABC's announcers were quick to call out what they saw as a flop, but there was no penalty on the play because there's technically nothing in the NCAA rule book that prevents hyperbolic injuries.

Here's everything to know about Jones, including why broadcasters called out the Ole Miss back for a "blatant fake injury."

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Matt Jones 'fake injury' video

Jones was standing to the left of Dart in the backfield when the quarterback seemed to gesture to his teammate to hit the ground. The running back dropped to the turf almost immediately holding his right leg in what appeared to be a fake injury.

Play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough was the first to comment on the scene, joking that "Jones fortunately survived to walk off the field." He then appeals to college football rules analyst Matt Austin, asking: "Is that legal?"

Austin confirmed the NCAA guidelines do not regulate fake injuries, meaning the officials had no precedent to penalize Jones for the incident.

“There is very strong wording about being unethical to fake an injury at any time during the game," Austin said. "I know the rules-makers have talked about it several times, but as of right now, there’s nothing you in the book can do about it.”

Who is Matt Jones?

The 21-year-old running back graduated from Jackson Prep in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2021 and arrived in Oxford before the college football season that fall. He recorded 1,064 all-purpose yards and 20 touchdowns in a senior season affected by injuries before deciding to walk on to the Ole Miss team despite collecting seven scholarship offers as a 0-star recruit, including Texas State, New Mexico, Arkansas State and Alcorn State.

Listed at 5-7 and 200 pounds, Jones redshirted his freshman season and made 12 appearances in 2023. The running back graduated this past summer with a bachelor's degree in business heading into his fourth season under Kiffin.

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Matt Jones stats

Jones has already played in more games this season than he did last, with five including Saturday's matchup against Kentucky. In his first four games of the season, he topped his rushing and touchdown totals from the two previous years combined.

On the depth chart, he is still second to Henry Parris Jr., who transferred back to Ole Miss after spending two seasons at Miami following his freshman and sophomore seasons in Oxford. Here's a look at how Jones performed in his four full games so far.