FELONY

That’s what was stamped in large letters across the front of Matt Jones’ arrest report.

When the first call came Thursday morning saying Jones had been arrested for possession of 6 grams of cocaine — a little more than the weight of two pennies, which in powder form is a lot — the first thing that went through the mind was: Coke ?

To the adoring masses, Jones came across as a laid-back surfer dude who might kick back with some grass. That is also illegal, but it is a far cry from coke and usually first-time offenders face a misdemeanor.

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According to the police report, the driver of the car, Jared Hicks, also a four-year football letterman for the Arkansas Razorbacks, was hit with a misdemeanor for having a small straw with a white substance on it behind his ear.

Benjamin Cook, who was in the back seat, was charged with a misdemeanor as well.

Jones, who admitted to police that the substance was cocaine (and tests confirmed it later ), gets the big hit.

While he has made an NFL career out of disappointing coaches and teammates with his lackluster efforts, he still goes down in the annals of Arkansas football as perhaps the most exciting player ever to wear the Razorbacks uniform.

He could make something out of nothing in the blink of an eye, and he did it so much that the times he made nothing out of something were almost forgotten.

Yet off the field, when most people couldn’t see him, he was aloof to the point of arrogance.

Despite the fact he is making big bucks with the Jacksonville Jaguars — or, at least, was — he had the coaching staff so frustrated by his lack of work ethic that one game last year his lone assignment reportedly was to go out and get the kicking tee after a kickoff.

As gifted and blessed as he is athletically — remember how he wowed all the scouts at the NFL Combine — he took all of that for granted and tried to live off natural ability instead of hard work.

Still, it is truly surprising that someone like Jones, a devoted hunter and fisherman, would do something so selfish, so stupid, that he could lose the right to ever own a firearm again. He also could lose the right to vote, although these days that doesn’t seem quite the big deal it once did.

This arrest is only one person’s fault: Matt Jones.

His parents did not fail him. His dad may have been too involved at times, but his mom and dad raised him right and they were there for him 24 / 7.

This is not any current or previous coach’s fault.

This is not the fault of Hicks or Cook.

This is Matt Jones’ fault because he knows better.

One can only hope for his sake that the prosecutor will allow him to be charged as a first-time offender and that someday his record will be expunged and he can have all his rights back.

Everyone — not just incredibly talented athletes — makes mistakes, and many learn from them.

Jones is smart enough to be one of those who gets some professional help — which will help him in the judicial system but perhaps not in the NFL — and kicks any and all addictions he may have.

Only he can make that decision, and he knows the procedure and the process.

Jones is not a hardened criminal. He wasn’t selling drugs. He wasn’t packing heat, and he wasn’t threatening anyone other than himself.

If he gets help for his problems, he could have a second shot at the NFL. That’s if he really wants it, and he’d have a lot to prove.

He definitely would be forgiven by the majority of one of college athletics’ greatest fan bases.

An apology to the Razorbacks nation and a step toward recovery, and in a short time Matt Jones will be remembered again as the all-time Hogs leader in total yards gained (8, 392 ) and touchdowns (77 ).

Or, he can be known as a felon.

It is all up to him to make a 100 percent commitment to doing the right thing at the right time, which is right now.