Jenkins remains the subject of a red-hot recruiting battle with at least three schools —WVU, Ohio State and Florida State —still in the running for the services of the 6-foot-5, 305-pound standout, who recently participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio.
If Jenkins ends up casting his lot with the Mountaineers, he may find himself being coached by one of his brothers and may be blocking for one of his East teammates at the All-American Bowl.
Jenkins brother, Ohio University senior Paul Johnson, who is completing an internship that will qualify him for graduation, has interviewed with WVU regarding a graduate assistant position for which he had applied several months ago.
When Jenkins played at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, he was extremely impressed with his East teammate, quarterback Star Jackson of Lake Worth, Fla., who came out on top in several quarterback drills at the all-star game. Jackson, who was said to be leaning to Alabama, now appears to have put West Virginia at the top of his list. His timing couldn’t be better with Pat White having one more year in Morgantown, after which the signal-calling position will be up for grabs.
Jackson not only was being recruited by the previous Mountaineer staff, but he also was being targeted by Florida recruiting coordinator John “Doc” Holliday, who recently became West Virginia’s recruiting guru.
This is a big recruiting weekend for Mountaineer football coach and his staff.
Joining Jenkins in Morgantown are offensive tackle Greg Shaw, offensive guard Joey Madsen, defensive tackle Jewhan Edwards and defensive end Corey Freeman.
Of the group Madsen, is the only one to have announced his verbal commitment to the gold and blue — a choice from which he has not swayed despite all of the upheaval at WVU.
Jenkins, who had given his verbal commitment following his junior season with the Big Reds, announced his de-commitment in December following the departure of seven-year head coach Rich Rodriguez to the University of Michigan.
The Big Red standout, however, agreed to take a formal visit to the campus earlier this week following a meeting with Stewart and Holliday, who visited PHS on Tuesday, two days before Ohio State University’s Jim Tressel made Parkersburg his home for a day.
WVU has made scholarship offers to all five of the players visiting this weekend.
Shaw (6-6, 280) attended Monsignor Pace High School in Miami, Fla., and is considered a 3-star recruit and one of the Top 50 high school players in the country at his position.
Same for Madsen (6-4, 275), who played at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio.
Edwards and Freeman are considered to be the first of what will be many recruits landed by new assistants Steve Dunlap, Chris Beatty, David Lockwood and David Johnson.
Edwards (6-3, 310) played at Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia while Freeman (6-1, 192) attends Cleveland Heights High School in University Heights, Ohio.
This weekend’s group brings the total number of possible recruits to visit WVU since August to 119.
Wide receiver Eugene Hilton (5-10, 165) from Miami Springs High School in Miami Springs, Fla., and tight end Jamal Mosley (6-4, 227) from Kingsbury High School in Memphis, Tenn., are slated to visit the campus over the next couple of weeks.
That number, like this weekend’s, likely will grow as Stewart and his staff continue to hit the recruiting trail over the next several days.
National letter of intent signing day is Wednesday, Feb. 6.
