Olney (MD) Our Lady of Good Counsel defensive end Kris Jenkins, Jr. committed to Michigan on Wednesday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Iowa, Maryland, Penn State, and Virginia Tech, among others.
Jenkins is listed at 6’4″, 239 lbs.
RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 78 grade, #49 DE
Rivals: 3-star, 5.6 grade, #48 SDE
247 Sports: 3-star, 88 grade, #25 SDE, #515 overall
Hit the jump for more.
Jenkins is the son of former Belleville (MI) Belleville lineman Kris Jenkins, who went on to Maryland and then the NFL; he’s also the nephew of former NFL defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins, who played his college ball at Central Michigan. As the son and nephew of legitimate NFL standouts (Kris was a four-time Pro Bowler, Cullen made 49 career sacks), one would think that Junior would get a bunch of attention.
Michigan didn’t offer until May, though, and many big-time programs still haven’t offered. Jenkins took an official visit to Michigan from June 21-23 (LINK), and the rest is history.
I like Jenkins’s ability to retrace his steps to chase or track down screens. He also does a good job of playing low and using leverage. He’s an aggressive player who doesn’t mind throwing around his body.
On the flip side, Jenkins is somewhat heavy-footed. He plays with flat feet, and that starts with his stance; I’m a little surprised that a player with his pedigree isn’t a little more refined with his stance and technique. He could also afford to use his hands more effectively.
Overall, it’s hard to bet against his family lineage. At the same time, his rankings by the recruiting sites seem to be pretty accurate. He’s not a dynamic athlete off the edge. He looks to me like a player who will need to add a chunk of weight and become a 3-technique or nose tackle. If I had to come up with a Michigan comparison, I would throw out the name Lawrence Marshall.
Michigan now has 21 commitments in the 2020 class, including defensive linemen Jenkins, Aaron Lewis, and Braiden McGregor. The last player Michigan landed from Good Counsel was cornerback Blake Countess, and the Wolverines have been hitting the State of Maryland hard with Jenkins and their four commitments from Baltimore St. Frances (Blake Corum, Nikhai Hill-Green, Micah Mazzccua, and Osman Savage).
TTB Rating: 65 (rating system)
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I like him better than Thunder does. I had to go back and look after the ‘flat footed” comment, and by jingo he really is flat footed. So much so that after picking up on it, it’s hard to not watch it to the exclusion of other stuff. Gonna add that to the “bender” thing.
He’s physical, takes on much bigger guys and wins, although being a hi-lite tape, I’m guessing he gets swallowed up some too. He can stand people up and slip under them. He’s got a nice quick jab and go change of direction that has worked at least once. He can get there pretty quick in a straight line and can bend around and beat a guy that’s leaning on him. I’d have him in the low 70s.
The kid I really want is the big DL, Victory Vaka. First of all, name of the year. Second, until I see it working, I’m not as enthusiastic about 6’6 250 and we’ll get them bigger on the D line as I am on the O line. I’d like to see a couple more 6’4″ 300 lb.19 year old kids coming in to compete at the nose position. I think we’re too small on our interior D line. I can see us getting run on inside.
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I would never steer you wrong!
P.S. I’ll respond to the Caleb Tiernan question you posted a few days ago. I just haven’t had a lot of time to devote to breaking down his film step by step. I’ll probably treat that like a “mailbag” post at some point.
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I hadn’t heard of Victory Vaka. (I can’t be in this stuff full time) I went to his video. For a sophomore he is pretty good! He’s able to push double teams. Looks like he likes to be physical. He needs a little better pursuit angles. He has 2 years to learn. I’m guessing he will put on about 30 pounds in the next 2 years. Go Blue young man!
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i guess the staff feel theyre deep enough to continue taking so many developmental projects at DL. hope it works out. as long as theyre still adding some guys capable of pushing for snaps in year 1-2 (and they just signed hinton and smith – still though thats only 2 guys like that over 3-4 years or whatever), i can see adding a few high upside guys like the german kid, morris, etc. brown knows what hes about, hes been doing this for years. still interesting to see the moves theyve been making at DL and CB over the last few classes
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When I read this morning he committed I went to his video. I just couldn’t see him as a DE. Not really many moves, at all. There’ll be too many other great DEs he wouldn’t able get ahead of. The way he plays, I kept thinking he’s a DT. He needs to put on quite a but of weight. I remember how good his dad was. His dads weighs like 120 pound more. Maybe he put on enormous weight, if he wants to.
Maybe by his 3rd year he’ll be a good contributor. Looks like he really likes to play.
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Watched his tape looks like an inside guy with a good motor who likes to be physical. He will add good weight and strength . Thunder your pretty consistent on your evals. Three rest is up to them. Extramelitonin, if you get a chance have your kids go to an NFA camp. Just took my sophmore 15 year old and he loved it. Pretty intense.
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