2012 NFL Draft Scouting Report: North Alabama CB Janoris Jenkins Ready to Prove Doubters Wrong (Video)

Thursday, February 16, 2012

RoarLions.com

By Bob Evans
Senior Writer

It is not very often a player from North Alabama receives first-round draft pick consideration. In fact, it has been 12 years since North Alabama has even had a player selected in the draft—when Bobby Collins and Tyrone Bell were selected in rounds four and six of the 1999 NFL Draft, respectively.

However, thanks to an unfortunate turn of legal events for a former Florida Gator cornerback, North Alabama is looking at possibly hearing their school’s name called in the first-round of the NFL Draft for the first time in the history of the program.

Janoris Jenkins transferred to North Alabama from Florida following three separate legal issues. In 2009 he was arrested for getting in a fight, and then in 2010 he was arrested twice for drug issues related to the use of marijuana. He was kicked off the team in Florida following the drug-related arrests, and subsequently transferred to North Alabama.

Jenkins realizes the legal issues are out there, but they are not stopping him from impressing scouts. He is coming off an excellent performance at the Senior Bowl, where a number of scouts were raving about his performance.

In fact, Matt Bowen from National Football Post stated, “There was a buzz from NFL scouts I talked to on the transfer from Florida. Solid change of direction skills, can play from an off-position and will use his hands at the line of scrimmage in a press-man alignment.” He also showed off his coverage skills during practices, locking down massive North Carolina prospect Dwight Jones (6’4”, 225 pounds) despite measuring in at 5’10”, 193 pounds.

During the Senior Bowl he was asked about the red flags and character issues which have plagued him since his days at Florida. He will be grilled at the NFL Combine about his past problems, but he had some very mature responses during Senior Bowl week in regard to these issues.

His response when asked was, “I just wanted to prove to everybody that I’m not a bad kid, that I just made a few mistakes and I’m ready to move forward.” He also stated, “I didn’t want people to make it seems like I was running from my problems. The reason for me going to North Alabama was to face reality, humble myself and get focused to make sure I don’t make the same mistakes.”

Since transferring to North Alabama, Jenkins has shown off much more than his maturity skills. In fact, Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan described his talents by saying “I think everybody can see he can bump, he can play off, he’s very talented, he can run. So he’ll be a top guy.”

While Shanahan likely won’t be taking him with the No. 6 pick in the draft, having an endorsement from a coach of his caliber will certainly help his 2012 draft prospects.

Outside of his 4.4 40-yard dash speed, Jenkins is the type of player that isn’t afraid to take on the team’s best receiver. He is very physical, and has a strong desire to make plays on defense. He jumps routes effectively and steps up in the run game to make tackles; in fact, he is one of the best tackling cornerbacks this writer has seen come out of college in a long time.

Thanks to his speed and athleticism, Jenkins very rarely gets beaten by receivers—unless he is overly aggressive when trying to make a play. His excellent speed allows him to recover in the oft chance a receiver gains early separation, which leads to him being able to pick off a number of passes. He also has excellent return skills, returning 18 punts for an average of 21.7 yards in 2011.

During his career at Florida, Jenkins intercepted eight passes, returning one for a touchdown, and had 121 total tackles. In his one season at North Alabama, he accumulated 52 tackles, two interceptions and recovered two fumbles in 12 games. Picking off 10 passes in four seasons may not seem like a lot, but it shows he can excel as a playmaker despite opposing teams not throwing his way very often.

Jenkins has elite NFL cornerback upside, but he will have to work on a few things to reach that level. His coverage skills will remind you of Nnamdi Asomugha—as he is better in man coverage. When it comes to zone, he has a tendency to float towards his man because he is more comfortable one-on-one. So for a team that plays a lot of zone defense, just look at Asomugha’s lack of production in Philadelphia this season for the potential disaster of trying to play Jenkins in the zone.

Despite the zone coverage concerns, Jenkins will be a first-round draft pick. His speed, physicality and aggressiveness are characteristics any team in the NFL could use. And when draft day 2012 comes, some team will end up with a very talented player with a massive chip on his shoulder, ready to make an impact from day one.






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