CB Jenkins jumps into Kiper's top 25

Senior cornerback MIke Jenkins, who considered leaving USF after his junior year to enter the NFL Draft, has already improved his draft stock this season, according to ESPN.com's Mel Kiper Jr.

Jenkins is one of two players to move up into Kiper's latest top 25 board -- I'd link, but it's from ESPN's Insider premium content. Jenkins is No. 17 on the list, which only includes current college seniors, and he's the second Big East player on the list after Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm. "He has excellent recovery speed and the toughness you look for in a cornerback," Kiper writes. "His size allows him to match up with an opponent's No. 1 wide receiver."

As recently as August, Kiper had identified Jenkins as the No. 5 senior cornerback in college football, but now he's the highest ranked cornerback on Kiper's board. Even accounting for underclassmen to join the draft pool, Jenkins is in strong position to become the highest drafted player in USF history.

ESPN.com has five USF players in its Scouts Inc. 2008 NFL Draft database -- in descending order, Jenkins, cornerback Trae Williams, linebacker Ben Moffitt, receiver Amarri Jackson and tackle Walt Walker. Scouts Inc. has Jenkins as the No. 55 overall prospect, with Williams next on the list at No. 94.

Jenkins, by the way, has completed his obligations for the pretrial intervention program he entered into this summer, so the misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer without violence from his March arrest have been dismissed, according to his attorney, Matt Farmer. Jenkins, who can now have the arrest expunged from his record, is one of only 10 players in ESPN's draft database that draw "character" flags, but it's hard to imagine the arrest will have an impact on his draft position.

Comments

[Joshua Burcham]

The best corner combination in the Nation!! These two give us a great chance to compete with Louisville and WVA. MJ has tremendous one on one coverage skills, speed and will thrive in the NFL. The main reason that Trae Williams got the opportunity to shine last year was that MJ had the opposite receiver blanketed. We just need to make the adjustments to cover the slot and tight end. We have some impressive looking underclassmen as well. (Murphy and Roberts) Shoot, Gilliam had a great game as well. If he had hung on to the two interception opportunities (it’s terrible when the ball hits you in the hands) against Auburn we be talking a lot about him this week.

[JL]

GA...

Any news in search of a kicker?

[G.A.]

JL, Leavitt said Tuesday he'll be sticking with Delbert Alvarado in both roles, as punter and on field goals/extra points. His punting numbers were solid Saturday, and Leavitt hopes that as he gets more comfortable handling both roles, his kicking will improve.

[GrowlerBull]

So is Teachy out of the picture completely?

[G.A.]

I wouldn't say Teachey's out of the picture. He'll continue to handle kickoffs, and he'll be the first option on punts (and kicking) should Alvarado falter again.

[Anhvu Nguyen]

Way to go MJ! He looks better and better everytime I see him play. I have never seen a player make more touchdown saving tackles than MJ. No offense to Trae Williams, but he has great numbers because no one wants to throw at MJ and Trae gets a lot of chances. Williams is great but will occasionally get burned (and that's is okay). I don't remember the last time I saw MJ get burned. I cannot believe that Coach Leavitt is not looking for a new kicker. Is he waiting for Alvarado to improve like Benzer improved. Here is a fact, we have no chance at winning any conference if our kickers cannot hit at least 50% of their field goals or consistently hit field goals under 30 yards. I think 90% of the people in Jordan Hare could have missed the field goals closer than Alvarado did.

[Martin]

Anhvu...can't get much closer than 10 yards!! i am glad to CJL is sticking with Alvarado though, hopefully his accuracy increases as the season goes on. MJ is just a beast. can't wait to see him drafted late 1st/early 2nd round.

[Martin]

^ i meant 19 yards out

[Kyle F.]

This is very exciting reading about Jenkins. Besides pulling off signature program wins, being able to produce "NFL" talent on a consistent basis will allow the coaches to recruit better athletes in the future (no knock on the current ones). Just thinking about a recruits mindset saying to himself " I want to play for the Bulls because with hard work, I will have the ability to play in the NFL someday, just look at Jenkins, Williams, Moffitt, etc."

[Ari]

i don't think he is exactly sticking with him. He doesn't have any other options.

The guy went 2-6 in field goal attempts and almost cost us that game.

His peformance was anything but heroic.

He was awful.

[Stephen Blackehart]

That's the one thing about Leavitt I just don't get. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but how can you let such a vital component of your team just sort itself out? John McKay used to say you can find kickers in bars...can't CJL find ANYONE to walk on? Does he have a phobia of kickers?

[JD]

In a related story, John McKay's Bucs frequently had horrible kickers.

[Brian]

I have to think he is expecting the kid to improve and that he is young. However, I can't see why he wouldn't push someone else into trying for the spot on these shorter shots.

Before we sink the kid for dead ... bear in mind that he has a monster of a leg for range and appears to have fair accuracy at the distance. If we are trying for field goals, it would likely benefit CJL to avoid putting this guy in the position for these angled chip shots--we already know he won't make them. Hopefully, that element of his game will improve rapidly. If not ... I'm sure they would love to see someone step up.

For better or for worse CJL tends to stick with his players until the need to change becomes grossly obvious (not to say this may not be the case now) but recall how long it seemed to take certain players to take the starting jobs away from those that previously held them.

One silver lining for the special teams--it looks like we may be on pace to have another star in the USF return game. For lack of a ST coach we have managed to regularly produce some exceptional returners (Ruben, Fisher, Reed, Randolph). Hopefully Murphy and Edwards will be the next great names there.

[G.A.]

He has other kickers. You've got Teachey, you've got Morgan Riley and William Criswell and Ilia Petrov. He's just made the decision that Alvarado is his best option. I'd imagine if Alvarado continues to hit at a .333 clip as he did against Auburn, you could see a change.

[Ari]

Greg -- he was awful at Auburn.

He missed a 19 yarder. He missed a 38 yarder by a country mile.

He had a field goal blocked.

OUr kicker was awful last year. My guess is that he goes out and recruits one.

Alvarado = Oh boy.

[Dave]

If his FG% was a batting average, he'd be pretty good.

My assumption is that none of the other Ks can accurately hit kicks as often as Alvarado- and that's a bad thing.

I really think the character flag is unwarranted. I know that a lot more than 10 draftable players this year have arrests, and many for more serious issues than Mike's. He just needs to keep on the straight and narrow...and the other players should view this flag as a cautionary example.

[Windbane]

Guys, the blocking was terrible for those kicks. Sure, he should have hit that close one, but he had one blocked and another one nearly blocked. He made the most important FG in our history so get off his back. And Leavitt's. Let's see how it works out.

[Ari]

Windbane..

You are really defending this guy???

Are you kidding me?

He made the most important kick in our history?

How about he missed 3 field goals within 35 yards. How about he almost cost our team the biggest victory in program history. How about the fact that Tommy Tubbs wanted to go to overtime because he thought our kicker was pitiful. Even the announcers couldn't believe that CJL didn't try to punch it in on 4th and goal on the one with 20 seconds later.

The guy is a awful kicker. You can make a 50 yarder all you want when it doesn't matter. I want a kicker who knocks down the 36 yarder to make the other team pay for fumbling the ball on the 20 yard line.

His performance is not defendable. He was awful and lucked out that we had a good offense to bail out his horrible performance. And you act like this big kick he made was from 42 yards. He made 19 yarder. That is the same distance as an extra point.

Hey CJL -- go out and find us a kicker this weekend.

[Ari]

Blocking was terrible....

DId you see the one kick he missed? I think that kick might have went out of bounds before it reached the back end line.

HA!..

poor blocking. That's right -- you though Mac was a good coach too.

HA

Bad blocking.

HA!

[Chris]

I think that Alvarado will be one of the better kickers we have ever had from here on.

The kid has a leg and is accurate in practice, he just needs to clear his head. Leavitt's choice to go with him Saturday showed his remarkable faith in his players. That decision will turn Alvarado around and make this team come together like never before.

I thought we would have a decent season, but after seeing that and knowing what it means to the players, I think you could see a team this year that will exceed the already high expectations.

GO BULLS!

[Ari]

I think Alverado will be one of the better kickers we have ever had?

You guys clearly don't remember last year. These are the same two guys, making the same bad kicks.

The first question I asked greg in spring practice was "whats up with the kicking game?"

we haven't had a good kicker since Bill Gramatica. Santiago wasn't even very good.

[Herman]

How anyone defends this guy is beyond me. I was at a watch party with over 40 people...not one person didnt throw in a curse when saying his name. The announcers were talking crap about the kid. Feel bad for him all you want, but when he blows a big meaningful game later in the season we ALL will be cursing him. You guys are too soft. When we have WVU on the ropes and need Alvarado for a big kick, i'll be looking for your guys for support because i wont be able to watch.

[Ari]

Good point Herman...

Nice to see you back in the fold.

How was your Jewish New Year?

Happy Rosh Hashanah my good friend.

Shalom
Ari

[cee]

ALVARADO IS GARBAGE. make no mistake about it-- how people support the scholarship offer of this kid is beyond me. alvarado is a 2 star recruit and you can only get so far with a 2-star

http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=8&c=1&nid=2280304

why leavitt brings in kids like these, i have no idea.. he underachieves in recruiting time and time again.

alvarado was freaking 5 for 9 last year in FG's.. 5-9 IS NOT GOOD. YOU SHOULDNT BE HOVERING AROUND .500 in kicking. like i said, if you're good out of high school, more often than not, you'll be good in college-- in a BCS conference-- on the road-- in auburn. yet, we still bring in the 2-star trash and the casual USF fans continues to praise these shenanigans.

[Ari]

I just saw the Pitt kicker, Connor Lee, nail a 41 yarder. The stats say he is 5 of 6 on field goals this year.

Now that is a kicker my friend.

This guy we got -- he aint a kicker -- he is a heart attack waiting to happen.

[cee]

Ari, he sure is a heart attack waiting to happen.. that pretty much sums up our recruiting classes on an annual basis.. its a waiting game to see how they are gonna screw up every year.. right now, i'm just waiting for our annual choke game.. ya know, the one that completely negates our annual upset? ya, it was kansas last year, uconn the year before than, and army 3 yrs ago

[Ken]

I'm afraid I'm with Ari and the majority on DA's field goals, but his punting was pretty darn good. I guess JL is confident he's going to improve--but will it be enough improvement and soon enough? We should have beaten Auburn handily, and in the end we were very fortunate to win.

[Ari]

His punting was real good.

His Place kicking - no good.

[Ari]

Nebraska seems to a have a good kicker too.