Matt Landers (born June 16, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

wide receiver for the

Arlington Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...

of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, O ...

and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

Early life

A native of

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, and the son of former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player

Toney Mack Toney Atmorer Mack (born May 3, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. A forward from Brandon, Florida, Mack was hailed as a young Dominique Wilkins. A prolific scorer at Brandon High School, in 1985, Mack was named Flori ...

, Landers attended three different high schools in the state. He spent his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. A ...

and

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educati ...

years at Lakewood High School before transferring to

Admiral Farragut Academy Admiral Farragut Academy, established in 1933, is a private, college-prep school serving students in grades K-12. Farragut is located in St. Petersburg, Florida in Pinellas County and is surrounded by the communities of Treasure Island, Gulfpor ...

as a junior; on the football team with the latter, he posted 1,038 yards and 15

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

s. He then transferred to

St. Petersburg High School St. Petersburg High School, founded in 1898, is a secondary school located in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school's current building, a historic landmark, was built in 1926. It was designed by Missouri architect William B. Ittner. It was listed ...

and recorded 40 receptions for 719 yards and seven scores. He was ranked a three-star recruit and the 97th-best wide receiver nationally, as well as the 89th-best player in the state. Landers eventually committed to play college football at

College career

In his first year at Georgia in 2017, Landers saw no action and was a scout team member. The following season, he appeared in four games but posted no receptions. In 2019, he saw action in 12 of their 14 games and posted 10 catches for 105 yards. However, in 2020, he only caught a mere two passes for 27 yards, despite playing in nine games. Following the season, Landers transferred to

. In 12 games played with Toledo, he posted 20 catches for 514 yards and five scores. As Landers had one year of eligibility remaining due to the NCAA not counting the 2020 season against any football player's athletic eligibility due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, he opted to return for a final season and transferred to

. He had his best season with them in 2022, recording 47 catches for 901 yards with eight touchdowns; his yards total was the eighth-best in school history in a single season, and his touchdown total was sixth. Additionally, he recorded four 100-yard games, the fourth-highest total for an Arkansas player. In his last game with Arkansas, Landers caught three passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in the Razorbacks' 55–53 triple-overtime victory over

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

in the

2022 Liberty Bowl The 2022 Liberty Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2022, at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The 64th annual Liberty Bowl, the game featured the Kansas Jayhawks from the Big 12 Confer ...

. Landers finished his college career having played in 50 games for three programs, posting 1,547 receiving yards off 79 receptions with 14 scores.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Landers posted the third-fastest

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

for a receiver at the 2023

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

. After going unselected in the

2023 NFL Draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29 ...

, he was signed by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He was waived on August 29, 2023 and re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on September 20.

Carolina Panthers

On September 26, 2023, Landers was signed to the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

practice squad. He was released on December 5.

Arlington Renegades

On January 23, 2024, Landers signed with the

of the United Football League (UFL).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landers, Matt 1999 births Living people American football wide receivers Players of American football from St. Petersburg, Florida Lakewood High School (Florida) alumni Admiral Farragut Academy alumni St. Petersburg High School alumni Georgia Bulldogs football players Toledo Rockets football players Arkansas Razorbacks football players Seattle Seahawks players Carolina Panthers players Arlington Renegades players