CB Jenkins jumps into Kiper's top 25

tampaboi07 · September 13, 2007

Senior cornerback MIke Jenkins, who considered leaving USF after his junior year to enter the NFL Draft, has already improved his draft stock this season, according to ESPN.com's Mel Kiper Jr.

Jenkins is one of two players to move up into Kiper's latest top 25 board -- I'd link, but it's from ESPN's Insider premium content. Jenkins is No. 17 on the list, which only includes current college seniors, and he's the second Big East player on the list after Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm. "He has excellent recovery speed and the toughness you look for in a cornerback," Kiper writes. "His size allows him to match up with an opponent's No. 1 wide receiver."

As recently as August, Kiper had identified Jenkins as the No. 5 senior cornerback in college football, but now he's the highest ranked cornerback on Kiper's board. Even accounting for underclassmen to join the draft pool, Jenkins is in strong position to become the highest drafted player in USF history.

ESPN.com has five USF players in its Scouts Inc. 2008 NFL Draft database -- in descending order, Jenkins, cornerback Trae Williams, linebacker Ben Moffitt, receiver Amarri Jackson and tackle Walt Walker. Scouts Inc. has Jenkins as the No. 55 overall prospect, with Williams next on the list at No. 94.

Jenkins, by the way, has completed his obligations for the pretrial intervention program he entered into this summer, so the misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer without violence from his March arrest have been dismissed, according to his attorney, Matt Farmer. Jenkins, who can now have the arrest expunged from his record, is one of only 10 players in ESPN's draft database that draw "character" flags, but it's hard to imagine the arrest will have an impact on his draft position.

Posted by Greg Auman at 9:38:25 AM on September 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2)

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