Teven Jenkins Realizing He Has Bright Future in Football
HOUSTON, Texas -- I remember when Teven Jenkins reported to Oklahoma State out of Topeka, Kansas and he was kind of a low key, zero rah-rah football player. Not totally uncommon, there are plenty of calm football players. Kickers and punters are usually calm and low key. Quarterbacks have to be calm most of the time or they can be mistake prone. Jenkins is an offensive lineman, usually a louder style of player. That's okay the mold is occasionally broken.
Jenkins red-shirted his first season, but then as a red-shirt freshman he got his first start against TCU. He played in all 12 games that season. He earned the full-time starting job as a sophomore and then held it his junior season. There was talk that he might take his degree earned in December and move on to real life, life outside of football.
Hold on! Jenkins leaves and hits the real world without football, as a college graduate, what happens? He would get a good job, but one that pays NFL first round pick money? I don't think so.
Pro Football Focus, the analytics group closely followed by the NFL, has Jenkins ranked as the number one right tackle in the Big 12 regardless of class. Tis season he allowed just six quarterback pressures, no hits on quarterbacks, and no sacks. He is a 6-6, 295 pound athletic player that has dancer's feet. He graded 99 percent on pass protection and 80.3 percent on run blocking assignments.
Wen he received the Barry Sanders Award for most contribution with the least rcognition, offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson was singing Jenkins' praises and talking up how important it was for the offense to have Jenkins back.
"It makes me excited about my future," Jenkins said rather calmly of all the credits. "I know it makes me think what I can be, what I can do, so it was nice hearing what Coach (Sean) Gleeson had to say about me."
You want Jenkins fired up? Just talk about blocking for All-American running back Chuba Hubbard and working to get Chuba another milestone in the Academy Sports and Outdoors Texas Bowl.
"It is very special because at the beginning of the season we were talking about wanting to be number one in the Big 12 in rushing (as a team)," Jenkins said. "Then we saw Chuba keep on churning and churning and he got first in the nation in yards and then he was first to a thousand. It was like after that day we sat down and said, 'you know what is after a thousand? We have to get two thousand.' We have to get two thousand now and I think this milestone that we are going to try to get this game is very important to us."
All the talk has been about whether Chuba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace would be back. Considering the analytics, you may want to jump on the topic of Teven and whether Jenkins will be back. If the analytics are spot on, then it seems like a very big story.
