Corey Jenkins is the local boy made good. This year he has inherited the South Carolina starting quarterback position and has been added to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list, given to the best passer in college football each year.
One of 12 siblings, Jenkins grew up in an athletic family -- his older brother, Dee, played baseball in the San Diego Padres organization -- and followed the local South Carolina Gamecocks. He is a native son of Columbia, S.C. who used to sell sodas at USC football games at nearby Williams-Brice Stadium.
Now he no longer is filling the airspace with shouts for ice-cold beverages, but with footballs aimed for the hands of his receivers. Jenkins has gone from hawking beverages to being the star attraction.
But Jenkins' route did not follow the immediate sequence of transitions from youth athletics to high school to USC football. Instead, he first pursued his own baseball dream right out of high school after the Boston Red Sox selected him with a first-round draft choice in 1995.
Jenkins already had signed with South Carolina to play football after being named the state's Offensive Player of the Year, passing for 3,400 yards and 45 touchdowns, and rushing for 2,800 yards and 36 touchdowns.
But instead of playing for USC, he took the opportunity to sign with the Red Sox and compete on a professional level.
After spending four seasons toiling for the Red Sox and eventually for White Sox minor league organizations, Jenkins abandoned his professional baseball dream and returned to school, hoping for another chance to play for the Gamecocks. What he found originally, however, was that the NCAA had modified its eligibility requirements, restructuring the mandatory core courses and leaving Jenkins initially ineligible.
Jenkins sought an intermediary stop at Garden City Junior College in Kansas, where he was named twice to the Junior College All-America team. In his final season at Garden City, he ran for 816 yards and eight touchdowns and threw for 936 yards and 10 touchdowns, leading his team to an undefeated 10-0 record and a No. 1 ranking in the junior college football circuit.
Jenkins' junior season was spent backing up senior Phil Petty. In that role, Jenkins still contributed, accumulating 497 yards of all-purpose offense and rushing for three touchdowns.
In spring practice, however, Jenkins rapidly emerged as a team leader and the team's starting quarterback. He was impressive enough to earn the Joe Morrison Memorial Award, given to the South Carolina offensive and defensive MVPs of spring practice.
At 26 years of age and sitting at the helm of a division one college football offense, Jenkins can easily be likened to former Florida State signal-caller Chris Weinke. Both played a few years of minor league baseball before returning to school.
Jenkins' obvious athletic tools -- speed, strong arm, and a 6-foot-2, 220-pound frame -- led to hype and pressure surrounding his senior season. He did not disappoint in his season opener, defeating New Mexico State 34-24 behind his team-leading 113 yard rushing performance and 166 passing yards and one touchdown.
"I thought Corey Jenkins played excellent, particularly in the second half," South Carolina Coach Lou Holtz said. "In the first half he ran well, second half he played like a quarterback."
The Cavaliers will have their hands full of Jenkins this Saturday night, particularly after current Florida State quarterback Chris Rix led the Seminoles to a rousing victory last Saturday. Rix created plays and spread the Virginia defense with his speed.
The South Carolina offense has the same tools at its disposal but employs a different strategy than Florida State, preventing Virginia from using the same strategy.
"This is a very different scheme we're playing against," Coach Al Groh said. The Gamecock offensive scheme features "a lot of single-wing in it, it has a little run-and-shoot in it," he added.
The young Cavalier team will be playing with added confidence following its strong fourth quarter performance against the Seminoles, so Jenkins will have a tough match when he visits Scott Stadium at 7:45 p.m. Saturday night.
Read More
Football lands three additional transfers
By Peter Kriebel | YesterdayOne common trait that stands out with this most recent batch of transfers is size.
Men’s basketball suffers road drubbing versus California
By Emory Huffman | YesterdayVirginia submitted another rudderless performance.
