Carl Jenkins Jr. commits to UCF; Knights keep St. Augustine star close to home

The Yellow Jackets wide receiver amassed over 1,000 yards receiving in 2023

St. Augustine 2025 4-star wide receiver Carl Jenkins Jr. committed to UCF on Saturday afternoon / Carl Jenkins Jr./X

When Gus Malzahn landed at the University of Central Florida as the Knights' head coach a couple years ago, he saw an opportunity to keep a lot of in-state talent close to home.

Enter St. Augustine (FL) 2025 wide receiver Carl Jenkins Jr., who was one of the Yellow Jackets' top pass catchers from the 2023 state runner-up team. Living just under two hours away from UCF, it just made sense to stay close to home.

On Saturday, the 4-star wide receiver announced via an Instagram live event that he was committing to UCF over Louisville, Mississippi State and USF.

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The 6-foot-3, 180-pound wide receiver was a key piece to the St. Augustine offense, alongside USF commitment Locklan Hewlet. Jenkins Jr. last fall caught 60 passes for 1,172 yards and scored 15 touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets.

As a sophomore, Jenkins Jr. started to show signs of becoming one of Northeast Florida's top deep threats out wide. In 2022, the wideout caught 33 passes for 667 yards and eight touchdowns.

The wide receiver also has offers from schools like Arkansas, Bethune-Cookman, Boston College, Bowling, Coastal Carolina, Connecticut, Duke, East Carolina, Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic, Georgia Southern, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Maryland, Miami (FL), Pitt, Syracuse, Texas A&M, Toledo, Troy, Tulane, UAB, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin.

-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl