Jayson Jenkins hasn’t played a game yet for Florida State. But he’s already shown his determination.
Jenkins injured his foot/ankle not long after the Tennessee transfer defensive lineman arrived in Tallahassee this winter and began his rehabilitation process.
“I have a lot of drive,” Jenkins said. “And when I sent my mind to something, obviously it’s a little setback, but I set my mind to it. I felt like I have a great support system around me here at Florida State that kept me going and I just kept pushing for them.”
FSU coach Mike Norvell had been optimistic about Jenkins’ timeline to return to practice. Back in July, at the ACC Kickoff event, Norvell said Jenkins would return around the midpoint of FSU’s preseason camp. Jenkins made it back earlier, working his way back into the mix through individual drills before taking part in 11-on-11 periods and participating in FSU’s second scrimmage on Aug. 10.
“I’m just ready to go play football at this point with my brothers,” Jenkins said. “I feel great. Everything has been good as far as getting to this point. I’m 100 percent ready to go to battle.”
That’s a good thing as FSU’s coaches decide who can line up where on the defensive front. They’re contemplating rotations as well as who can be impactful on third-down situations.
Jenkins’ numbers at Tennessee don’t jump off the page. But he does have significant SEC experience (20 games) and is coming off his best season. Jenkins had nine tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks in 2024.
What he showed on the field in his return from injury has impressed FSU’s coaches.
“It was a very limited number of live reps but you can see it was just knocking the rust off,” defensive coordinator Tony White said on Aug. 10, following FSU’s second scrimmage. “The more reps he gets the more comfortable he’s going to be. He’s twitchy, he’s explosive, he’s really, really disruptive. Had a really good scrimmage.”
Whether he’s a starter or a backup, it’s easy for the coaches to pencil Jenkins into a six-man rotation along with Darrell Jackson, James Williams, Deante McCray, Deamontae Diggs and KJ Sampson. True freshmen Darryll and Mandrell Desir have also impressed and could be in the mix.
Jenkins likes what he has seen from White’s 3-3-5 defensive scheme. He thinks he fits best as a strongside end but can see him playing any of the other positions as well as move around along the line based on down-and-distance situations.
“It’s so multiple,” Jenkins said. “Coach White just puts us in position to make a lot of plays. With the alignments and everything like that, it provides a lot of opportunities to make different types of plays.”
Jenkins says he’s thankful for FSU’s training staff as well as defensive line coach Terrance Knighton and White, who have been cautious about his timeline to return to the field. White was often a coach who insisted that Jenkins should not push himself and remain on his rehabilitation schedule so that he does not overexert himself in the journey back.
“I feel like the progressions I made in the spring to the summer were extraordinary,” Jenkins said. “And I feel like I worked my tail off. I didn’t really have a set timeframe, but I was really set on working my butt off to get to this point.
“I’m excited. I feel like all of this work is really paying off. I’m really thankful for that.”
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