Previously: Last year's profiles. S Makari Paige, S RJ Moten, S Jordan Morant, CB Andre Seldon, CB Darion Green-Warren, CB Eamonn Dennis, VP William "Apache" Mohan, LB Nikhai Hill-Green, LB Kalel Mullings, LB Cornell Wheeler, LB Osman Savage, DE Aaron Lewis, DE Jaylen Harrell, DE Braiden McGregor.

Olney, MD – 6'4", 239
		24/7	3*, 88 rating #25 SDE, #20 MD
		Rivals	3*, 5.7 rating #19 SDE, #16 MD
		ESPN	3*, 78 rating #53 DE, #22 MD
		Composite	3*, #512 overall #21 SDE, #19 MD
		Other Suitors	MD, VT, PSU, Iowa, MSU, NW
		YMRMFSPA	Ryan Glasgow
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello post from Ace.
Notes	Twitter. High up on the impossible to Google scale because a guy with the same name won the national title for Villanova in 2016.
Film
Senior Year:

With Aaron Lewis transferring to be closer to his ailing mother, Michigan's attempt at defensive tackles in this class is Kris Jenkins, and that's it. Now, you may be glancing upward at the listed weight and sending question marks out through your brainwaves. I completely understand.

This projection relies heavily upon Kris Jenkins Sr., who was a planetoid nose tackle at Maryland drafted in the second round before a long and productive NFL career. Cullen Jenkins, the uncle of the younger Kris, was also a long-time NFL defensive lineman who topped out at 300 pounds. The elder Jenkinses—and the state of the roster—are the main reasons why this space is shoving a guy listed by Michigan at 239 pounds as far into the defensive interior as he'll go.

Obviously, this is going to be a project.

[After the JUMP: feed this man]

There are some early signs this is not going to be futile. It appears that in the absence of physical persons on campus that Michigan just pulled heights and weights directly from 24/7. There has not been a pound of difference between MGoBlue.com and 24/7 so far in this series. Therefore that weight is outdated. In March he told The Athletic he was 250 and hoped to add another five or ten pounds before fall. Also, his relative sveltness wasn't because he struggled to put on weight:

“He ran track his freshman and sophomore year, which was fine, but that kept him on the lighter side,” Stefanelli said. “He would bulk up, then he’d run track and thin back down. He’d go in the weight room after track and in two weeks he’d put 15 pounds of muscle on. He was freakish, and he was incredibly strong. Even when he was lighter he was stronger than most 250-pound kids.”

Let's go, genetics! Do us a solid.

Also here is Jenkins benching 350:

@KrisJenkinsJr1 350lb bench! Hes a freak! @UMichFootball @gcfootball #IronFalcon pic.twitter.com/dDZOZM0No1

— GCStrength (@GCStrength1) August 1, 2019

I fiddled with a one-rep max calculator until I got an equivalent number of reps at 225: 18. That's what Chase Winovich put up at the 2019 combine. Matching an NFL DE before your senior year of high school is a good start towards being a defensive tackle.

Finally, virtually everyone who lays eyes upon Jenkins projects a move to the interior. Touch The Banner said "his future is a three-tech"; Rivals's Adam Friedman asserted that "once he fills out he’ll be an interior guy"; his high school coach noted that the elder Jenkins was "built in a similar structure as a high school kid, kind of long and lean" before blowing up into an All-Pro DT.

Earlier in the cycle Jenkins was talking about how Michigan could see him at DE, DT or even 3-4 OLB "depending on how my body develops over time"; by the time that Athletic article was written Michigan's coaches were "hoping to get me to play more of the interior D-line like my dad." Seeing Jenkins on the interior isn't far-fetched. It's just going to take a minute.

I'm conflicted on how many minutes, precisely, because Jenkins has to move to the defensive interior. The defensive interior is a land of unnatural actions performed precisely lest you get thrown in a pond, and Jenkins spent most of his high school career as not only a DE but a stand-up DE. Technique is going to be an issue. On the other hand he's got a guy:

“My dad, he helps me a lot. He gives me so many pointers and tips and is always pushing me to be better. He knows I can be better and he makes me aware of that. He’ll show my certain techniques and moves and I try to emulate those all the time.”

And per his coach he's a sponge who "learns very quickly and can apply techniques that he learns almost instantaneously, which is very rare."

Jenkins has the ability to fire out low and blast the guy across from him, at least on the high school level. The number of times he shocks back a tackle significantly bigger than him on his senior tape pops out. It's not consistent, even on his highlight tapes. It is frequent enough to believe he can get to consistency. 24/7's profile scout:

Long with good frame… Carries 240 pounds like it is 225.  Gets off quickly at snap and gets up field. Good knee bend allows for low pad level. Crashes inside well.  … Can stack and shed against run. Instinctual and plays with energy. Moves well laterally. … Has to develop interior pass rush moves.

 Touch The Banner:

I like Jenkins’s ability to retrace his steps to chase or track down screens. He also does a good job of playing low and using leverage. He’s an aggressive player who doesn’t mind throwing around his body. … somewhat heavy-footed. … I’m a little surprised that a player with his pedigree isn’t a little more refined with his stance and technique. He could also afford to use his hands more effectively.

Brian Dohn after scouting Jenkins in person at his conference championship game, where he had 5 TFLs and a sack:

… able to use his strength to press off blocks and he moved well laterally. He showed an ability to fire off the ball and get up the field quickly, covering a lot of ground in two or three steps …quickness allowed him to shoot gaps on several occasions, and he displayed body control. … flexible and bends well at the knees. … has to continue to work on his consistency, and his ability to stand his ground

After the season Dohn would assert that Jenkins "really improved his change of direction and his athleticism" as a senior. TTB bumped its ranking 12 points. This fits with an opposing coach's case that Jenkins was overlooked:

“He’s a late bloomer …  some people write kids off if they’re not dominant as freshmen. … He hit a growth spurt between his sophomore and junior year, and that may have changed Michigan’s thinking on him.”

Friedman's overall scout also paints a picture of a guy who could rise quickly:

"…all potential right now … comes off of the ball well and he has a great frame. He understands what he needs to do with his hands but could get better there. He plays with pretty good leverage … ton of room left on his frame to fill out … really smart kid … … not quite explosive enough to be an edge guy.  .. high academic guy"

Rivals's Mike Farrell appears to agree, picking out Jenkins as a three-star who will exceed his ranking in February. Always a little odd when the guy in the charge of the rankings picks someone out as underrated, but in Jenkins's case you can see it. Yeah, he played most of his high school career at 240. Yeah, he's got to add a zillion pounds just to be viable. Hard to throw that guy way up the rankings, but easy to see that guy making you wrong what with dad looking in the window.

Etc.: Needs to get with Kalel Mullings and do some Boyz II Men covers:

"He is in the choir. He does his own thing. He gets along with his teammates, gets along with everybody on the team. He is one of those kids who is very non-judgmental. You never really see him down. He is a lovable kid. He hangs out with the kids in the choir."

Why Ryan Glasgow? A quick, powerful, heady defensive tackle who had a terrific push-pull move, one that I bet Jenkins will end up emulating to utilize his burgeoning I Am A Bear strength. Glasgow was a walk-on and has no recruiting profile as a result but that fits with the guy who needs to beef and is a late bloomer. He was a nose, not a three-tech, but a relatively light one. 

On the less optimistic end of the scale, Carlo Kemp is a potential outcome if adding the weight saps his explosiveness and he can't get big enough to be a planetoid. Kemp is a fine rotation player but it's rough when he's your best DT. 

Guru Reliability: High. A lot of agreement, a lot of scouting in common.

Variance: High-minus. I think he'll get there but there's a lot of projection you have to do here: adding weight and moving inside. Bloodlines worth a "minus".

Ceiling: Very high. Freaky strong at 250 and has those bloodlines.

General Excitement Level: High. This is a repeat of the Ronnie Bell situation a couple years back when he was the only outside WR in the class. Like Bell, I think Jenkins is underrated and an excellent pickup, but not pairing him with a fairly sure bet gives me the willies.

Projection: One of the more obvious redshirts in the class. Will have Chris Hinton and Mazi Smith blocking him for a couple years after that, God willing, but wouldn't be surprising to see him become a significant rotation piece as early as year two. Year three is more realistic.

Jenkins could end up as anything from just a guy to a high-end NFL prospect, but one thing's all but certain: he's going to be on the field. He's the only DT in his class. There are no natural DTs in the class in front of him, just a couple of shoehorned DEs who were flier recruits. There are currently no DTs in the 2021 class. Someone recruit some DTs!