Armwood’s Jones to undergo knee surgery, will miss season opener

Posted Aug 4, 2011 by Bill Ward

Updated Aug 4, 2011 at 07:08 PM

Armwood senior Matt Jones, one of the nation’s top-ranked prep running backs, will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee early next week for a slight tear in his meniscus and is expected to be out of action for four to six weeks, Hawks head coach Sean Callahan said Thursday.

Jones’ surgery means he will miss the Hawks’ nationally-televised, season-opening game against Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High on Aug. 26, as well as their matchup with host Brandon High on Sept. 2. According to a MaxPreps poll, Armwood is the No. 2 high school team in the nation while recruiting specialist Tom Lemming pegged the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Jones as the country’s No. 2 “big back.”

Jones, who has already made a verbal commitment to the University of Florida, appears to have suffered the injury when he hyper-extended the knee last month during a football camp at the University of Central Florida. But the full extent of the injury was unclear until an MRI was performed on the knee Thursday.

Although the MRI was not conclusive, Callahan said there was definitely “something there,” likely a relatively small meniscus tear. Jones has been able to run in recent weeks but has been unable to make cuts.

“If we didn’t get this done and I played him, I wouldn’t be a good coach,” Callahan said. “We’d obviously want to see him play but we have other people who can step in and play his spot until he gets back. We’ll be fine.”

Callahan said the two backs likely to be starting the season are senior Wade Edwards and sophomore Greg Newton. With an offensive line in front of them that boasts five Division-I recruits, Callahan says he’s not too worried about the Hawks’ ground game.

Last season, Jones rushed for 1,300 yards on 136 carries and scored 23 touchdowns. He also had 11 catches for 209 yards and another three TDs.