Jelani Jenkins

[oneatatime]

Haven't heard much about him lately. Figured he would be redshirted and with Spikes, Stamper and Doe gone next year, he would be in the mix.

Now with Spikes and Hicks missing the Vandy game, he is apparently ready to play. Whether they should be burn his redshirt at this late date, is worth discussing, but with six games to play, I say let him play if he's ready.



http://www.gatorsports.com/article/2...-over-comments

[g8rgrad07]

He's probably too good to be here 5 years anyways. Might as well give him some good experience this year to get ready for next year.

[PumaGator]

i think g8rgrad07 got it right, seems like redshirting isnt being done as much anymore because coaches are realizing that players good enough to warrant them are probably going to jump early anyway. meyer has straight up said that we "dont redshirt at florida" and that players go in when theyre ready to play, whether it be day 1 or the last game of their senior season.

[SJB612]

I disagree with this philosophy. It is rare that a player bolts after two years of playing football. By and large, they will all play at least three years. So if you are going to have them play for three years, why not have it be their 2nd through 4th years on campus, rather than their 1st through 3rd. They are older, bigger, stronger, and have been in the system longer. I am sure they are better as redshirt juniors than they would be as true juniors. I know it comes down to need sometimes (see Joe Haden 2007), but I think you would get more productivity/better performance out of them on average if they were redshirted.

[swg8trgr8]

U can't bolt after 2 years anymore. Colle players have to play 3 years before they go to the NFL. What's the deal with hicks? It will be interesting to see who takes over the MLB spot next year with hicks and jones on the outside. Edwards, beal, bostic? Will doe start vs. Vandy?

[gatorwrestler]

Or that guy u speak of playing for his 2-4th years on campus...obviously drafted his fourth year from what u say....why not get 4 years of playing time outta him? Your plan has him sitting his freshman year ..maybe the other way he gets some meaningful gametime experience as a freshman.

[Lawdog88]

That would be great if you could control what the players are actually going to do. Some of them think they can go pro after a couple of years, want the $$, and are going to bolt. So, what to do with those guys?

I think that, except in the most unusual case, we probably should not sign players who either express, or we can figure out, that they only want a couple of years' worth of collegiate ball. Over all, I don't think they are that good for the program.

[Donzo]

3 year min for football players.

If we don't sign guys who think they can go pro early, we turn into Vandy...

[PumaGator]

Originally Posted by Donzo

If we don't sign guys who think they can go pro early, we turn into Vandy...

quoted for truth.

[SJB612]

Originally Posted by swg8trgr8

U can't bolt after 2 years anymore. Colle players have to play 3 years before they go to the NFL. What's the deal with hicks? It will be interesting to see who takes over the MLB spot next year with hicks and jones on the outside. Edwards, beal, bostic? Will doe start vs. Vandy?

That's not true. You can bolt after 1 year of playing if you want, as long as you are three years removed from high school. In other words, you can leave as a redshirt sophomore (like Bradford should have), a true junior, a redshirt junior, a true senior or a redshirt senior. My point is, most guys who leave early, do so as either true juniors or redshirt juniors. Rarely do guys leave as redshirt sophomores. So, if you are going to only get three solid years out of a player before he bolts, assuming he is good enough to leave early, you are probably better off him having played those three years with a redshirt year behind them, as you will get more production from him.

Here is an example. Omar Hunter. Here is a guy that even if he has a great year next year, probably won't go pro as a redshirt sophomore unless he just absolutely dominates the college game. Assuming he stays and has another great year, it is very likely he will go pro as a redshirt junior. So, we will have gotten one good year out of him this year (2009), and two great years the next two years. Now, if he had played as a true freshman in 2008, we probably wouldn't have even gotten a good year out of him as he was fresh out of high school, didn't know the plays, hadn't been with Mickey yet, etc.. But if he did play last year, and blows up next year, he probably goes out as a true junior, like Carlos Dunlap will. So, we would have gotten one sub-par year, one good year, and one great year out of him (a la Carlos Dunlap), instead of one good year and two great years.

Of course, I understand when you get a Percy Harvin, you let him play. Or if you have an area of need and all you have are true freshmen. But by and large, I think you get more out of redshirt guys, and the argument that they are going to leave early anyway doesn't hold that much water. Would love to see stats on the number of guys who leave college as redshirt sophomores. My guess is it is really low. The only time you lose out in that game is if a guy leaves early as a redshirt junior, when he maybe would have played all four years if he didn't redshirt, so you only get three years out of him instead of four.

[jhenderson251]

Originally Posted by Lawdog88

That would be great if you could control what the players are actually going to do. Some of them think they can go pro after a couple of years, want the $$, and are going to bolt. So, what to do with those guys?

I think that, except in the most unusual case, we probably should not sign players who either express, or we can figure out, that they only want a couple of years' worth of collegiate ball. Over all, I don't think they are that good for the program.

Percy Harvin

[BFeezy]

Knowshon left as a redshirt sophomore. It seems like it would mostly be the "skill" positions that would go early.

[Lawdog88]

Originally Posted by jhenderson251

Percy Harvin

Like I said, there are exceptions.

[gatormater]

Originally Posted by Lawdog88

Like I said, there are exceptions.

Any player who we would consider an "express" player would be someoen who is obviously really good. So I would make an exception for any of those players unless there was absolutely no need at the position.

[lifetimeg8r]

I have seen Jenkins on the ST squads quite a bit this year so no chance of redshirt anyhow.

[BFeezy]

Originally Posted by Lawdog88

That would be great if you could control what the players are actually going to do. Some of them think they can go pro after a couple of years, want the $$, and are going to bolt. So, what to do with those guys?

I think that, except in the most unusual case, we probably should not sign players who either express, or we can figure out, that they only want a couple of years' worth of collegiate ball. Over all, I don't think they are that good for the program.

I agree with this for BB but not FB. Too many one and dones can be bad for a team but you could probably still have continuity and team chemistry with 3 and dones (especially more so than JUCOs). The caveat to that is if the kid has too big of an ego or attitude problem because he knows how good he is.

[Gators15]

I was also wondering about Jelani Jenkins for a while. I don't think he's redshirted. He does real well in school, I believe. Did he play any minute so far?

[oneatatime]

after watching the interview where Meyer brought him up, I would be surprised if he saw action.

as far as i know, they can still redshirt him

[WolverineGator]

Originally Posted by oneatatime

after watching the interview where Meyer brought him up, I would be surprised if he saw action.

as far as i know, they can still redshirt him

ya technically nobody is red-shirted until the conclusion of the season. There is also a certain amount of time that he would have to play "in-game" (i don't remember the exact amount) or else he would automatically get red-shirted.

[bluelang]

JJ can't redshirt. He played against CSU.

So actually it's weird that he hasn't seen more action in general, altho I could swear he's seen time on special teams.

http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/playerDetai...=235&player=43

			Games Played	Tackles
				Ast	Solo	Asst Loss	Solo Loss	Loss Yds
Career Totals			2	1	1	0	1	1

2009
Career Totals vs.	Date	Opponent	Score	Played In Game	Tackles
					Ast	Solo	Asst Loss	Solo Loss	Loss Yds
Charleston So.	09/05/09	Charleston So.	62-3	Yes	1	1	0	1	1
Troy	09/12/09	Troy	56-6	No	0	0	0	0	0
Tennessee	09/19/09	Tennessee	23-13	No	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	09/26/09	at Kentucky	41-7	Yes	0	0	0	0	0
LSU	10/10/09	at LSU	13-3	No	0	0	0	0	0
Arkansas	10/17/09	Arkansas	23-20	No	0	0	0	0	0
Mississippi St.	10/24/09	at Mississippi St.	29-19	No	0	0	0	0	0
Georgia	10/31/09	Georgia	41-17	No	0	0	0	0	0
Season Totals					1	1	0	1	1