More News

With his senior season on the Good Counsel football team just beginning with preseason practice, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Jenkins, a third-year two-way starter, has transformed himself into a national college football prospect, coveted by scores of Division I-A programs.

That is anything but an exaggeration, as, according to www.rivals.com, the All-Gazette first-team defensive selection has garnered scholarship offers from Boston College, Clemson, Florida,5

Illinois, Maryland, Miami, Notre Dame, Penn State, Southern California, Stanford, UCLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

If that's not enough, Jenkins visited Michigan and Michigan State over the summer, and scout.com also has Louisiana State, the defending national champion, in the picture.

Both of those Internet sites rank Jenkins, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds, as one of the top linebackers in the country, and he's been added to ESPN's 150 watch list.

Scouts Inc. labeled Jenkins "a tough, rangy, fast-twitched linebacker prospect who plays fast and physical on every snap," and said "he packs the punch of a much bigger linebacker with his ability to generate great speed in the short area. Very strong tackler who wraps up low and drives through with great power from his hips and lower body."

Jenkins, also a punishing fullback for the Falcons, has displayed all of those talents the past two years for Good Counsel coach Bob Milloy, helping lead his squad to two straight appearances in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference final.

As a sophomore, Jenkins rushed for 698 yards and 12 touchdowns, while racking up 46 tackles and three sacks. Despite being hampered by an ankle injury at times last year, he improved those numbers in 2007: 782 rushing yards, 223 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns, and 58 total tackles on defense.

"His recruiting intensity has probably even surpassed Akeem's," Milloy said in comparing Jenkins to Akeem Hebron, now a linebacker at the University of Georgia. "He's a great player and he's a great-character kid and he's got a 3.9 GPA. He can go anywhere he wants to go. He is rare. You don't get those kind guys too often in a coaching career."

Despite all of that intense attention, Jenkins, who traveled all over the country this past summer, said the recruiting process has been anything but burdensome because of the help of his parents, Stephanie and Maurice.

Jenkins also said he has no real timetable for making his final choice. In fact, he has yet to narrow down his suitors to a more manageable list, choosing to keep all of his options open.

"It really hasn't been tough [and] it doesn't mess up my schedule too much," said Jenkins after practice last Tuesday. "It didn't bother me in terms of lifting or anything. I'm putting it aside for the most part and worrying about school. I still get mail and people contacting me from the [recruiting] Web sites. It's cool. I feel blessed."

As do his teammates, who are able to play alongside such a skilled and humble player, especially longtime friend Caleb Porzel, Good Counsel's starting tailback, who has benefited greatly from Jenkins' love of hitting, clearing away defenders left by the offensive line.

"I'd say he's the heart of the team," said Porzel, who has committed to Maryland and is actively trying to convince Jenkins to do the same. "He's a role model for everyone. For me, it's really fun to just see someone get pulverized right in front of me and me just reading off his block and on defense, him just destroying people. He just doesn't like talking about stuff. He's just laid-back and humble, not outspoken."

Although he is very strong at both positions, Jenkins' many suitors are coveting him as a linebacker, which Jenkins has no problem with and which just makes sense to Milloy.

"I think the reason is he just closes on the ball," Milloy said. "I saw him against Landon [in a scrimmage] and they ran a sweep to the right and he was playing backside linebacker and he's pursuing. He saw an opening and, bang. He got that kid for a four-yard loss. That kid had no idea where he came from. He chased him down from the backside."

With the start of the season right around the corner, Jenkins said his main focus now lies on capturing an elusive WCAC crown, as the Falcons have come up short against DeMatha the past four years.

"Of course, I want to win a championship and just have a winning record and do the best we can," said Jenkins, who may pursue a major in sports medicine in college.