By Greg Auman, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, March 10, 2011
USF's first recruiting commitments for 2012 are starting to come in, and Rayshawn Jenkins, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound quarterback and safety from St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut, said he accepted a scholarship offer on Wednesday to play for the Bulls.
Jenkins, a state champion last year in the 110-meter hurdles and runner-up in the 300 hurdles, said he'll play free safety at USF, though he'll continue to play quarterback and even occasionally receiver at Farragut. He said USF offered him two weeks ago, and he chose the Bulls on Wednesday over interest from Florida State, Georgia and Kansas.
"USF is a rising program, and I wanted to be a part of that," Jenkins said. "It's close to home."
Jenkins was recruited to USF by assistant Vernon Hargreaves, and he'll make much the same transition as rising sophomore JaQuez Jenkins, who was a high school quarterback at Lakewood but has made his mark at USF at safety. Jenkins knows JaQuez (no relation) and safety Jerrell Young, as well as defensive end Julius Forte. Asked for his strengths on the field, Jenkins cited his "leadership and hard work." He said he would like to compete in track while at USF as well.
According to 247sports.com's Josh Newberg, USF picked up a second commitment on Thursday from Ryan Brown, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound defensive end from Marrero (La.) Archbishop Shaw.