Jenkins bringing a family feeling with him to his new football family
By MAC ENGEL
tengel@star-telegram.com
OXNARD, Calif. — With the stroke of a pen, 17-year-old Mike Jenkins could have been on a plane flying to Lincoln, Neb. — or wherever — to go to school, play football and be away from the tough realities of his youth.
He grew up with a mother who was fighting diabetes and high blood pressure, and a father who was in and out of jail. Jenkins easily could have left to pursue a more conventional college experience.
On the table were scholarship offers from Nebraska, Iowa and a handful of other attractive schools far away from his home in Bradenton, Fla.
"It’s your life and you need to make the decision that is best for you," his mother told him. "I’ll back you 100 percent."
The morning of National Signing Day he told his mother he had made up his mind.
"What’s it going to be?" she asked.
He wouldn’t say. Later that morning during a ceremony at his high school he was flanked by his mother ... who still didn’t know her son’s choice.
This is typical Mike Jenkins. When he’s ready to tell you, he will. But only when he’s ready.
"I’m going to South Florida," Jenkins said to the audience.
"I almost passed out," said his mother, Kathy Gray.
Six years later, Kathy, 45, literally fainted when the Dallas Cowboys selected her son in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Jenkins arrived in Oxnard on Saturday after agreeing to a contract Friday and immediately will be plugged into the Cowboys’ secondary.
His teammates will soon learn that despite his quiet demeanor, Jenkins is ready for the transition. Blessed with NFL talent, he’s also blessed with maturity and a sense of responsibility that make him an ideal fit among the high-profile Cowboys.
Father figure
Ciyon Gray is 11 now, and not too long ago he received the bad news that he didn’t pass a particular test in school.
"We have to tell Mike," Kathy Gray told her son.
Since as long as he can recall, Jenkins has been a father figure to his little brother. Ciyon (pronounced Key-on) is one of the main reasons Jenkins spurned supposedly "name" programs in favor of South Florida. As much as Jenkins felt the need to stay close to home and keep an eye on his ailing mother, he wanted to be there for his brother.
For a couple of prolonged periods, when Kathy wasn’t well, Jenkins took Ciyon in while he was at South Florida.
"There was one time during his junior year when she got really sick and we thought she might die, and he went home," South Florida defensive coordinator Wally Burnham said. "I really don’t know how he did all of it. But he never missed a workout, 7-on-7, nothing."
And should Kathy’s ability to enforce whatever she needs isn’t working at a given moment, all she needs to do is pick up the phone.
"It just takes a call to Mike," Kathy said. "Ciyon looks up to Mike so much; he idolizes him."
At his older brother’s suggestion (command?), Ciyon went to see a tutor to help him prepare for his test, which he did pass on the next try.
"Then Ciyon couldn’t wait to call Mike himself," Kathy said. "What Mike thinks of him means a lot."
Jenkins did not have a road map to follow when it came to trying to take care of his mom and brother. He just did it. His parents divorced when he was about 3. His mother re-married a man who became more like a father, but he was gone a fair amount because of business in his native Jamaica. So, oftentimes it was just Jenkins’ mother, older sister and younger brother at home.
Although most people say the physical resemblance between Jenkins and his father is striking, he prefers the comparisons to end there. Mike Jenkins Sr. is in jail for the sixth time in the past 12 years.
"He called me right before the draft, just to congratulate me on the whole process," the younger Jenkins said. "I thought he was going to ask me for something, but he didn’t. He told me he was happy for me, and that was it."
Quiet star
Paul Maechtle’s coaching philosophy at Bradenton Southeast High School always has been to ask his players which position they want to play and to let the sorting-out move naturally. With Jenkins, that didn’t work.
"You can put the blame on Mike — he was bashful about his ability," Maechtle said.
He always was and always will be shy. He’s not rude. He’s just uncomfortable being the center of attention.
"He had been a defensive back, and we finally put him in at running back his senior year and it was a knife through butter," Maechtle said. "Watching him that first time it was like, 'Oh, my God.’ "
Jenkins was a member of his high school’s 4x100 track relay team, but despite his speed, he wasn’t the anchor leg. He didn’t want to play running back because his best friend was the starter. He was content playing defensive back and hitting people.
"He can lay the lumber," Maechtle said.
At 6 feet, Jenkins is the rare corner commodity who has height and speed. Even more rare is that he’s a corner who not only doesn’t shy away from contact but seeks the big hit. Basically, he was sitting on a lottery ticket that he didn’t completely try to cash in until his junior year at South Florida.
"He always worked hard, but I think once he sensed that he could possibly go to the next level, it really motivated him," Burnham said. "He always kept most things to himself. It was five long years of hard work for him [in college] and he’s the one who made it pay off."
It’s his nature
Kathy likes to tell a story from the days when Jenkins was in elementary school. A teacher asked Kathy if her son could attend an after-school basketball game.
"It’s OK if you want to go," Kathy told him.
Jenkins never wanted to go. He was too shy. He was always more comfortable in his own house, playing PlayStation.
"What’s it going to take to get him to go with me?" the teacher asked.
Jenkins eventually went, but when he was good and ready. There is a feeling-out process with Jenkins. But when he’s ready, he’s ready to do just about anything.
He’s ready now.
tengel@star-telegram.com
OXNARD, Calif. — With the stroke of a pen, 17-year-old Mike Jenkins could have been on a plane flying to Lincoln, Neb. — or wherever — to go to school, play football and be away from the tough realities of his youth.
He grew up with a mother who was fighting diabetes and high blood pressure, and a father who was in and out of jail. Jenkins easily could have left to pursue a more conventional college experience.
On the table were scholarship offers from Nebraska, Iowa and a handful of other attractive schools far away from his home in Bradenton, Fla.
"It’s your life and you need to make the decision that is best for you," his mother told him. "I’ll back you 100 percent."
The morning of National Signing Day he told his mother he had made up his mind.
"What’s it going to be?" she asked.
He wouldn’t say. Later that morning during a ceremony at his high school he was flanked by his mother ... who still didn’t know her son’s choice.
This is typical Mike Jenkins. When he’s ready to tell you, he will. But only when he’s ready.
"I’m going to South Florida," Jenkins said to the audience.
"I almost passed out," said his mother, Kathy Gray.
Six years later, Kathy, 45, literally fainted when the Dallas Cowboys selected her son in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Jenkins arrived in Oxnard on Saturday after agreeing to a contract Friday and immediately will be plugged into the Cowboys’ secondary.
His teammates will soon learn that despite his quiet demeanor, Jenkins is ready for the transition. Blessed with NFL talent, he’s also blessed with maturity and a sense of responsibility that make him an ideal fit among the high-profile Cowboys.
Father figure
Ciyon Gray is 11 now, and not too long ago he received the bad news that he didn’t pass a particular test in school.
"We have to tell Mike," Kathy Gray told her son.
Since as long as he can recall, Jenkins has been a father figure to his little brother. Ciyon (pronounced Key-on) is one of the main reasons Jenkins spurned supposedly "name" programs in favor of South Florida. As much as Jenkins felt the need to stay close to home and keep an eye on his ailing mother, he wanted to be there for his brother.
For a couple of prolonged periods, when Kathy wasn’t well, Jenkins took Ciyon in while he was at South Florida.
"There was one time during his junior year when she got really sick and we thought she might die, and he went home," South Florida defensive coordinator Wally Burnham said. "I really don’t know how he did all of it. But he never missed a workout, 7-on-7, nothing."
And should Kathy’s ability to enforce whatever she needs isn’t working at a given moment, all she needs to do is pick up the phone.
"It just takes a call to Mike," Kathy said. "Ciyon looks up to Mike so much; he idolizes him."
At his older brother’s suggestion (command?), Ciyon went to see a tutor to help him prepare for his test, which he did pass on the next try.
"Then Ciyon couldn’t wait to call Mike himself," Kathy said. "What Mike thinks of him means a lot."
Jenkins did not have a road map to follow when it came to trying to take care of his mom and brother. He just did it. His parents divorced when he was about 3. His mother re-married a man who became more like a father, but he was gone a fair amount because of business in his native Jamaica. So, oftentimes it was just Jenkins’ mother, older sister and younger brother at home.
Although most people say the physical resemblance between Jenkins and his father is striking, he prefers the comparisons to end there. Mike Jenkins Sr. is in jail for the sixth time in the past 12 years.
"He called me right before the draft, just to congratulate me on the whole process," the younger Jenkins said. "I thought he was going to ask me for something, but he didn’t. He told me he was happy for me, and that was it."
Quiet star
Paul Maechtle’s coaching philosophy at Bradenton Southeast High School always has been to ask his players which position they want to play and to let the sorting-out move naturally. With Jenkins, that didn’t work.
"You can put the blame on Mike — he was bashful about his ability," Maechtle said.
He always was and always will be shy. He’s not rude. He’s just uncomfortable being the center of attention.
"He had been a defensive back, and we finally put him in at running back his senior year and it was a knife through butter," Maechtle said. "Watching him that first time it was like, 'Oh, my God.’ "
Jenkins was a member of his high school’s 4x100 track relay team, but despite his speed, he wasn’t the anchor leg. He didn’t want to play running back because his best friend was the starter. He was content playing defensive back and hitting people.
"He can lay the lumber," Maechtle said.
At 6 feet, Jenkins is the rare corner commodity who has height and speed. Even more rare is that he’s a corner who not only doesn’t shy away from contact but seeks the big hit. Basically, he was sitting on a lottery ticket that he didn’t completely try to cash in until his junior year at South Florida.
"He always worked hard, but I think once he sensed that he could possibly go to the next level, it really motivated him," Burnham said. "He always kept most things to himself. It was five long years of hard work for him [in college] and he’s the one who made it pay off."
It’s his nature
Kathy likes to tell a story from the days when Jenkins was in elementary school. A teacher asked Kathy if her son could attend an after-school basketball game.
"It’s OK if you want to go," Kathy told him.
Jenkins never wanted to go. He was too shy. He was always more comfortable in his own house, playing PlayStation.
"What’s it going to take to get him to go with me?" the teacher asked.
Jenkins eventually went, but when he was good and ready. There is a feeling-out process with Jenkins. But when he’s ready, he’s ready to do just about anything.
He’s ready now.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:23 AM
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