Janoris Jermain Jenkins (born October 29, 1988), nicknamed "Jackrabbit", is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at North Alabama and Florida and was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Jenkins also played four seasons for the New York Giants, two seasons for the New Orleans Saints, and one season for the Tennessee Titans.
Early life
Jenkins attended Pahokee High School, and he played for the Pahokee Blue Devils football team and was teammates with Richard Ash and Merrill Noel. In his senior year, Pahokee went 14–0, beating Newberry 53–14 at the Florida Citrus Bowl for the 2008 FHSAA Class 2B State championship. Jenkins was recognized as a first-team Class 2B All-State selection and a Parade magazine All-American.
Rated a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Jenkins was listed as the sixth-best cornerback prospect in the nation.
College career
Jenkins accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football team from 2008 to 2010. He became just the second true freshman in school history to start at cornerback in the season opener. He was named to College Football News and Sporting News′ Freshman All-American teams. Despite his strong on-the-field performance for the Gators over three seasons, Jenkins was kicked off the team after he was charged with possession of marijuana in April 2011.
Jenkins subsequently transferred and attended the University of North Alabama for his senior year, after signing an athletic grant-in-aid to play for the North Alabama Lions football team under head coach Terry Bowden.
Collegiate statistics
Professional career
Coming out of North Alabama, Jenkins was projected to be a second round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. Prior to the combine, NFL analyst Mike Mayock ranked Jenkins as the second best cornerback in the 2012 NFL Draft. Jenkins received an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed nearly all the combine drills, choosing to only forgo the bench press due to a shoulder injury. On March 9, 2012, he participated at North Alabama's pro day and opted to only perform positional drills for team representatives and scouts. Jenkins was ranked as the third best cornerback in the draft by NFL analyst Mayock and was ranked as the fourth best cornerback by NFLDraftScout.com He received positive reviews for his coverage skills, athletic ability, explosiveness, and ability to read and react to plays. Scouts cited Jenkins' past personal off the field issues, small stature, and possible ability to adapt to the physicality of the pro game as concerns and liabilities.
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams selected Jenkins in the second round (39th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft.
2012
On July 24, 2012, the St. Louis Rams signed Jenkins to a four-year, $4.99 million contract, that included $2.93 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.06 million.
Jenkins competed with fellow rookie Trumaine Johnson, veteran Cortland Finnegan, and Bradley Fletcher for the Rams' starting cornerback job throughout training camp. Head coach Jeff Fisher named Jenkins the Rams' starting cornerback for the start of the regular season.
He earned his first career start in his professional regular season debut during the Rams' season-opening 27–23 loss to the Detroit Lions and finished with six combined tackles and a pass deflection, and had his first career interception after picking off Matt Stafford's pass, returning it for 34 yards. In Week 12 against the Arizona Cardinals, Jenkins collected two solo tackles and returned two interceptions for touchdowns after picking off fellow rookie Ryan Lindley. He became the first Rams player to ever return two interceptions for touchdowns in a single regular-season game and helped the Rams defeat the Cardinals, 31–17. On December 16, 2012, Jenkins recorded a season-high eight solo tackles during a 36–22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Jenkins finished his rookie season with a total of 73 combined tackles (64 solo), 14 pass deflections, four interceptions, and four touchdowns in 15 games and 14 starts. Jenkins also appeared as the Rams' punt returner, finishing the season with nine returns for 46 yards and three fumbles. His four defensive touchdowns (3 INTs, 1 fumble recovery) led the NFL that season. Jenkins won the team's Carroll Rosenbloom Memorial Award for his record-setting season. Jenkins also tied an NFL rookie record with three interceptions returned for touchdowns, and tied Chicago Bears' cornerback Charles Tillman for the league lead.