The VandySports 100: No. 8, Jordan Matthews

Jordan Matthews, the best receiver in Vanderbilt football history, makes the VandySports 100 at No. 8. You can follow our countdown to No. 1 here.

Honors and awards: 2012 third-team All-American (Phil Steele, CBS Sportsline)

2012 first-team All-SEC (coaches, AP)

2013 first-team All-American (Athlon, USA Today)

2013 consensus first-team All-SEC

2013 Maxwell Award watch list

2013 Biletnikoff Award semifinalist

2013 SEC Offensive Player of the Week (Week 16)

In the VU record book: Single-game receptions: tied-seventh (13 vs. Tennessee in 2013)

Single-season receptions: first, third (112 in 2013, 94 in 2012)

Single-game awards per reception (minimum of five): seventh (25.2 vs. Arkansas in 2011)

Single-season yards per catch (minimum two catches per game): fifth (19.0 in 2011)

Single-season receiving yards: first, second (1,477 in 2013, 1,323 in 2012)

Single-season receiving touchdowns: tied-seventh (eight in 2012)

Single-season 100-yard games: first and second (nine in 2013, seven in 2012)

Career receptions: first (262)

Career yards: first (3,759)

Career receiving touchdowns: first (24)

Career 100-yard receiving games: first (19)

Before VU: Was a senior captain and three-year starter at Huntsville, Alabama-area Madison Academy. Team made the state playoffs his senior year; he was team MVP while catching 61 balls for 1,061 yards and 13 TDs, adding eight interceptions and 50 tackles as a defensive back. Was a first-team 3A All-State pick. Had 68 catches for 1,357 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. Had 18 catches for 3,218 yards and 38 TDs in his career. Also played basketball, helping the team to a state title as a sophomore and runner-up finishes as a junior and senior.

Freshman (2010): Played in all 12 games as a true freshman, almost exclusively in garbage time. Started the Wake Forest game and had seven catches for 74 yards in that contest, earning the team's Offensive Player of the Week honors. Caught a touchdown in each of the last four games (Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Wake Forest).

Sophomore (2011): Started 10 games for a 6-7 team that lost in the Liberty Bowl. Led the team in receptions (41) and receiving yards (778) and led the SEC in yards per catch (19.1). Had 36 of those catches for 715 yards and five TDs in the last eight games. Topped 100 yards in three-straight games (151 vs. Arkansas, 171 against Florida, 131 vs. Kentucky), becoming the first VU player in five years to post back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, and the first to have three in a row since Dan Stricker in 2000. Had a season-high nine catches vs. Florida. Had team-high four catches for 56 yards vs. Cincinnati in AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Junior (2012): Led the SEC with 94 catches for a 9-4 (5-3 SEC) team that finished ranked in both Top 25s. Matthews started all 13 games, finishing the year as the Commodores’ all-time single-season leader with 1,323 receiving yards and 94 catches, the latter tying LSU’s Josh Reed for No. 2 all-time among SEC players at the time. He led the league that season in both catches and yards and receiving yards per game (109.6). Banner games included South Carolina (eight catches, 147 yards, one touchdown, Georgia (8-119), Florida (8-131-1), UMass (10-112), Ole Miss (9-153-1), Tennessee (5-115-1, and one rush for a 47-yard TD) and Wake Forest (10-144-1). Added six catches for 61 yards and a score in the Music City Bowl win over North Carolina St.

Senior (2013): Led the SEC with 112 catches (fourth in the NCAA) and 1,477 receiving yards for a 9-4 (4-4) team that again finished in both Top 25s. His 112 catches set a single-season SEC record since broken by Alabama's Amari Cooper. Capped his carer with a five-catch, 143-yard, two-TD game in a win over Houston in the Birmingham Bowl. Had single touchdowns in five other games: Ole Miss (10 catches, 178 yards), Austin Peay (6-111), UAB (8-115) and Missouri (7-123). Also had 100-yard games vs.South Carolina (8-106), Kentucky (12-141), Tennessee (13-133) and Wake Forest (11-125). Added 11 catches for 89 yards in an upset of Georgia.

Post-VU: Philadelphia took Matthews in the second round (No 42 overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft. Matthews has had a solid NFL career and started for the Eagles for his first three seasons. He's now with the 49ers.

Final thoughts, and why I ranked him where I did: If not for Bradley Roby, Jordan Matthews may have never played football beyond high school. Roby was a Vanderbilt receiver commitment who defected to Ohio State (where he later became a defensive back and a first-round NFL pick) in the winter before National Signing Day; that opened a scholarship for Matthews--who had no other scholarship offers--and the rest is history.

And what a legacy he left.

Six full seasons after his career ended, Matthews still tops the SEC's career charts in catches and yards and ranks 24th in league history in yards from scrimmage. Since 1956, he ranks 34th in NCAA history in yardage and tied for 50th in catches, according to College Sports Reference.

How consistent was Matthews? He has just one of the top 12 single-game reception totals in VU history, and none of the top 12 single-game yardage marks. Note his school-record 19 100-yard receiving games; second on that list is Stricker (110), followed by Earl Bennett and Boo Mitchell (nine).

Matthews was hands-down the best practice player I ever covered, but it didn't all translate right away.

The first problem was the 2010 season itself. Vanderbilt had one of its most dreadful teams ever that year, and a passing attack that completed 46.9 percent of its throws that year for a measly 5.3 yards per throw. It had as its starting receivers John Cole (25 catches, 317 yards, one touchdown), freshman Jonathan Krause (24-243) and Udom Umoh (12-194-2). Despite the lack of competition, and despite the fact the team was frequently down double-digits, Matthews would barely play until the fourth quarter or games. Then, with the season waning, he caught touchdowns in each of the last four contests, finally earning a greater role in the season's last two games.

Then came the next season, when I expected Matthews to break out early. Instead, he caught three balls in the opener against Elon for 58 yards, then, went into the deep-freeze, hauling in five balls for 60 yards over the next six games. Then came the three-game run against SEC teams in which he caught 21 passes for 452 yards and essentially became that player for the rest of his career.

There are many enduring memories of Matthews. That 2012 game against Tennessee and the Birmingham Bowl when he was a one-man wrecking crew in the first half are two that come to mind. But the one everyone probably thinks about first was a fourth-and-11 catch in the final moments of the Wake game his senior year. It set up a game-winning field goal and saved VU an embarrassing loss. It's probably the best catch I've ever seen a Vanderbilt player make. I had a great angle of that play in the press box; we were all astounded that Matthews made the catch and even though I've attached a video of it below, I don't think it does it justice.

So why do I not have the SEC's all-time leading receiver higher than eighth? Obviously, there are seven superstars ahead of him and so this is where flaws get magnified some.

First, Matthews wasn't much of a factor the first season-and-a-half of his career. Second, it's probably harder to dominate games as a wide receiver as compared to the roles players ahead of him had. I doubt anyone will debate his inclusion in the top 10 and there are fair points to be made that he should slot higher than where I have him.