Jeff Reed: Arkansas State Red Wolves NFL Draft Streak Up for Renewal

Let’s talk streaking.

Aside from the seven-game winning streak the Arkansas State Red Wolves carry into the next season, there is another run of major importance to the football program in Jonesboro.

And by Sunday, we will know if is still alive.

For the record, the Arkansas State Red Wolves have had a player taken in the NFL Draft each of the past six seasons.

It started with Oren O’Neal in 2007. The former offensive lineman turned fullback from Stuttgart who turned into a monstrous blocker was taken in the sixth round by the Oakland Raiders.

Then the streak continued this way:

• 2008: Safety Tyrell Johnson, second round to the Minnesota Vikings
• 2009: Tight end David Johnson, seventh round to the Pittsburgh Steelers
• 2010: Defensive end Alex Carrington,  third round to the Buffalo Bills
• 2011: Offensive tackle Derek Newton, seventh round, Houston Texans
• 2012: Linebacker Demario Davis, third round to the New York Jets

Six straight seasons with a player drafted ties the best in school history – that record was set in the 1970s and included some of the studs from the undefeated 1975 team. The streak ran from 1972-77 and included 25 players. If ASU had been represented in the 1971 draft you could add four more years to the streak.

The big kicker in those days – the NFL Draft was at least 17 rounds. In recent years it has been trimmed to seven rounds.

If the Arkansas State Red Wolves’ streak continues, the best chances lie with Don Jones, who has been one of the rising stars in the weeks following the NFL Combine, an event Jones, a defensive back, was not invited to attend.

But after ASU held its pro day in March, with 14 NFL scouts in attendance, things changed for Jones.

The 5-foot-11, 191-pound Jones, who has been a key part of 20 ASU victories the past two season, had a 42-inch verticle jump and ran a 4.4 40-yard dash at the Arkansas State Red Wolves Pro Day.

He also turned in other top performances: bench pressing 225 pounds 17 times;  a 10 feet, 7 inch  broad jump; a 4.48 20-yard shuttle; and a 7.19 three-cone drill.

Those are the type of numbers that get the NFL’s attention. Then you throw in the showing he made against Kent State’s speedy Dri Archer (4.2 40) in the Red Wolves’  bowl victory, it is easy to see the attraction.

In recent weeks, according to various reports, he has had workouts or interviews with the Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jones is projected to go in the middle rounds and could play either cornerback or safety.

Another  member of the Arkansas State Red Wolves to keep an eye on during this weekend’s NFL Draft is wide receiver Josh Jarboe, who has finished his career in Jonesboro, his fourth school in his five-year career. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder has had two trouble-free seasons at Arkansas State and has turned around a career that had trouble getting off the ground at Oklahoma and Troy. After a year in junior college he signed with with the Red Wolves and turned in two productive seasons.