| Florida Gators — No. 3 | |
| Linebacker | Sophomore |
| Major: Social and Behavioral Sciences | |
| Date of birth: March 13, 1992 | |
| Place of birth: Olney, Maryland | |
| Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | Weight: 223 lb (101 kg; 15 st 13 lb) |
| Career history | |
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| High school: Our Lady Good Counsel, Olney, Maryland |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Stats at CBSSports.com | |
Jelani Jenkins (born March 13, 1992) is an American football player. He currently starts at linebacker for the University of Florida. Jenkins was one of the highest ranked college recruits in the high school class of 2009.
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Jenkins attended Our Lady Good Counsel in Olney, Maryland. As a junior he played full back and linebacker. He rushed for 1129 yards and 42 touchdowns at running back and had 60 tackles, four sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, and recovered two fumbles at linebacker.[2] As a senior Jenkins rushed for 22 touchdowns and made 70 tackles.[2] He was the first player in the 71-year history of the District's Pigskin Club to earn both Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors.[2] He was recognized as a Parade magazine All-American and was chosen to play in the 2009 Under Armour All-America Game.
Jenkins was one of the top high school football players in the class of 2009. Scout.com ranked him as the #7 overall player and the #1 linebacker,[3] while Rivals.com ranked him the #10 overall recruit and #2 at linebacker.[4] Jenkins announced his decision to attend Florida on National Signing Day, February 4, 2009.
Jenkins redshirted his initial year at Florida, appearing in only two games with two registered tackles.
In his second year as a Gator, Jenkins began the season as the team's starting middle linebacker, a role which he held throughout most of the year.[5] Despite the Gators' struggles, Jenkins developed into one of the squad's defensive leaders. He finished the season second on the team in tackles with 73, and also recorded one interception and one fumble recovery. At the conclusion of the season, Jenkins was voted to the 2010 Freshman All-American team by the Southeastern Conference coaches.
Jenkins had an above 4.0 grade-point average in high school due to higher weighted Advanced Placement courses. His parents are Maurice Jenkins and Stephanie Hall. His father is a renowned architect in the Maryland/Washington D.C area and his mother played basketball at Howard and is a black belt in karate. The name Jelani is Swahili for "mighty". His parents devised a three-page matrix of Jenkin's college choices, breaking down schools by categories such as world academic ranking, graduation rates, diversity, and number of NFL draft picks in the past five years. Jelani was also an accomplished track athlete in high school, running 11.14 in the 100m and throwing the discus 137 feet, 2 inches.[2]
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