Mel Kiper Jr on USF's Defense

[Bull Dozer]

Eric (Tampa, FL): Does USF have one of the most underrated defenses out there?

SportsNation Mel Kiper: Auburn's offense is just woeful. It's not very good. They were very fortunate to beat Kansas State in Week 1. They don't have any playmakers. Their OL, Cox isn't a good enough QB to carry a team without help and he's not getting any help right now. Now, USF, they have some very good DL, George Selvie. The CB tandem of Mike Jenkins, who debuted on my top 25 this weekend and Trae Williams is the other corner. That's the best CB tandem in college football. Jenkins has outstanding ball skills. You have to like the way he plays. He's really elevated his stock. Is it an underrated defense? I don't know about underrated. It's already a heckuva year when you beat Auburn, but they also have three tough conference games. If they win two of those three, they could have a 10-win season. I think it's possible for them.

[Bull Dozer]

Also Mike Jenkins is #17 on Mels Big board

17. Mike Jenkins, CB, South Florida (5-11½, 202) | Previous: Unranked

He has excellent recovery speed and the toughness you look for in a cornerback. His size allows him to match up with an opponent's No. 1 wide receiver.

[Kyle]

his big board...meaning overall?

if so, that's simply amazing.

[Bull Dozer]

his big board...meaning overall?

if so, that's simply amazing.

Yup

[Triple B]

his big board...meaning overall?

if so, that's simply amazing.

Yup

1st round material? Guess he made the right move by staying, as long as he stays healthy...

[JoeB]

He simply dominated every pass play that he was involved in.  The coverage was blanket-like.  And it wasn't like they only threw his way once or twice.  He was involved in many plays.  The only negative I saw was during a running play where he didn't really make a great attempt at tackling and got run over.  AU was on the 12 or so, and Jenkins could have tackled the runner at around the 9, but he blew thru MJ and got down to the 3 or 4.  That was the only negative I saw all game out of Mike Jenkins.  But as a pass defender, he's top rate.  

[Bull Dozer]

his big board...meaning overall?

if so, that's simply amazing.

Yup

1st round material? Guess he made the right move by staying, as long as he stays healthy...

I would say the 17th best overall prospect should be taken in the 1st.  Also i submitted the question he answered in that chat 2 weeks ago.  Guess he decided to wait to see if we won at auburn to answer it. 

[postmortem]

Two new players debut this week on the board, South Florida cornerback Mike Jenkins and LSU linebacker Ali Highsmith. Not only is Jenkins great in coverage, but is very aggressive in run support and is a solid open-field tackler. Last week, Jenkins performed exceptionally well in USF's upset win at Auburn.

Always good to see some national respect especially from someone as well known and respected like Kiper. That list changes weekly and it only takes a few poor games to drop or a few good games to drastically rise in stock. Hopefully MJ doesn't the latter.