Jordan Jenkins, other new Bulldogs start adjustment to college football life
Jonathan Taylor (L) and Jordan Jenkins pose Tuesday for their first photo as roommates at the University of Georgia. (Jenkins family photo)
ATHENS – It has been an emotional couple of days for Ronald Jenkins and his wife Phyleshia. But they have a good attitude about it.
Of dropping off his son Jordan Jenkins at UGA this week and leaving him behind to try to fulfill a dream, Ronald Jenkins quipped, “Well, our grocery bill will be considerably less.”
That’s true. But the reality is, it is a watershed moment for players and parents when these kids start their college football careers. It’s exciting and nerve-racking for both. And the process the Jenkins are going through is being repeated about 14 times over early this week. That’s how many new Bulldogs are showing up to begin classes by Friday and off-season workouts sometime next week.
Three of Georgia’s 19 signees enrolled in January and have been with the team for six months now. Two others — defensive tackle John Atkins and defensive end Leonard Floyd — are still working out their academic requirements, as detailed HERE on the AJC Recruiting Blog.
But 14 others were being dropped off Monday and Tuesday, moving into the East Campus Village dormitory and going through orientation this week.
These, as they say, are interesting times.
“It’s a special experience,” said Ronald Jenkins, whose son was considered one of the top recruits in Georgia for 2012. “You think about back in the day when they were young and watching them play. To finally get to where they’re playing on a college scholarship and playing for a big-time program is humbling.”
The Jenkins have been staying at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education since Monday. They’ll drive back to Harris County on Wednesday as empty-nesters. Their daughter Aysha left for Albany State last year.
Much will be on their minds on the way home.
“You wonder about how he adapts to the college life and being independent, going to classes and working hard on the football field and how he combines all that together,” said Jenkins, who met his wife at the University of Washington. “It’s a big phase for kids, to step out there and start going to classes and getting into the workout program and stuff like that.
“My thing is I just want him to stay focused and work hard. Like I’ve always told him, ‘when you’re doing well and you know you haven’t done your best, then you know you still have work to do. You don’t ever allow an opportunity in life to have regrets because you feel you could have done better in something because you got content.’ Being in the SEC, there’s some tough competition out there and you have to work hard for anything you want.”
There’s another transition signees must make. Until now, they’ve been wooed and charmed by college coaches. Their future encounters will be mostly of the in-your-face variety.
“We’ve talked about that,” Ronald Jenkins said. “He prefers to have somebody in his face pushing him. If he does it right, he’ll be fine. If he doesn’t do it right, he’ll get chewed. That’s the way he prefers to be coached, to tell you the truth.”
Starting tomorrow, it will be up to Jordan Jenkins and 13 others to deal with the transition. Ronald Jenkins believes his son is up for it.
“It seems like he’s looking forward to it,” he said. “I haven’t seen anything but smiles on his face. He’s happy to be here.”
– Chip Towers, The UGA Blog
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92 comments Add your comment
Delbert D.
June 5th, 2012
7:03 pm
Seriously, colleges should look into rickshaws. Yes, it would cost some money from the athletics funding, but it would be safer and it would create jobs.
outkasted
June 5th, 2012
7:26 pm
Nice read Thanks Chip!!!
Beast from the East
June 5th, 2012
8:02 pm
Best of luck…except in Jax
Spike 80DF
June 5th, 2012
8:03 pm
make sure they all have a VALID drivers license and then their first class is Scooter 101.
kerryb
June 5th, 2012
9:26 pm
Nothing like a fresh UGA blog to bring all the nimrods out.
slawdawg
June 5th, 2012
9:47 pm
Good Luck to each of these young men!
Funny Fans
June 5th, 2012
9:59 pm
You Jawja fans sure are funny!!! Trying to bust on the Alabama fans about championships. You all are the laugh of the country. You haven’t won squat to amount to anything while Alabama is out winning 2 national championships in the past 3 years. Not to mention the other National Champion was also from Alabama. When UGA wins something that means anything may be then, and only may be, the rest of the country will stop laughing in your face. FUNNY FANS!!!
Troup Co. Dawg
June 5th, 2012
10:36 pm
The future is ours, we will get better! Recruiting! Recruiting! Recruiting! This class definitely has class, but there is some Major talent in this Ring team! Go Dawgs! Support these guys, they are here for One reason only! Win Baby Win!
Troup Co. Dawg
June 5th, 2012
10:42 pm
It is called Loyalty all you Bama fans, you want ever convert this Dawg, I bleed red and black forever! If you were truly loyal to Bama, you wouldn’t be messin’ around on this blog. Now go home before we get Dawg ugly with you!
Lakedawg
June 5th, 2012
10:47 pm
Man hope to continue to get to some practices and scrimmages to see these two going up against Theus and compamy.
Dawg Haus
June 5th, 2012
10:54 pm
Best of luck to these young pups!
Mobile Dawg
June 5th, 2012
11:00 pm
JB, that’s a perspective I hadn’t thought about. I guess I will have to support some of the local sports bars.
Tdawg
June 5th, 2012
11:38 pm
Funny Fans why don’t you go find a really tall building and fling your sorry arse off of it. Listen you pompous jerk. This was a blog about UGA athletes, not about you or the Bama idiot’s that came on this site bashing UGA. Only a loon, in other words someone like you, would take your load or crap and not respond. Only a bama fan would think that way. Do you people over there actually breed your kind on purpose? Go back to doing the two things Alabama people do best. That is cheating and cow tipping. Well four, if you count molesting opposing drunken fans and tree murdering.
RED DOG 77
June 6th, 2012
12:01 am
@DestinDawg……………..Don’t be so up-tight about Missouri dude, we WILL beat the living snot out of them…………..they really don’t have much. Yes they can throw the ball all over the field…………..No run game, no Oline……………and not a lick of Defense……………..RED
Gulf Shores Dawg
June 6th, 2012
12:22 am
the tide, go kill an oak tree…rednecks, u r just a slight step above Miss.
Gulf Shores Dawg
June 6th, 2012
12:24 am
the tide…and don’t embarrass the SEC again like you have with strippergate,,,it;s fans like u that make me pull for AU…
Gulf Shores Dawg
June 6th, 2012
12:25 am
welcome to Athens all the great future stars of the SEC, come home to UGA!
pj
June 6th, 2012
1:30 am
ignore “Bama guy”. Yes, they have a great football team. Congrats to them. They now think theyre like the Roman empire or Hitler’s Germany and somehow can expand the empire. Nah – ya’ll are just a great football team, that’s all. Auburn won a title. LSU won 2. Florida won 2. In the new landscape of college football, Bama is one of the best – but don’t act like you rule the world. I generally like my Bama friends, but the one’s on these blogs are a terrible example. I’m sure these guys have the name of every tree poison that exists. Hey Harvey – you can’t tea bag on a blog – you just perpetuate sterotypes of your state.
On another note – 4 SEC teams have won 7 National titles recently. It’s Georgia’s turn! We’ve got all the intangibles. If we can get past LSU or BAMA in the title game, no reason we won’t be playing Kiffin’s boys for the big title.
BigGAdawg
June 6th, 2012
5:31 am
WELCOME to all the new UGA football team members. We look forward to seeing you excel on the field and off. I do not wish you good luck, but rather I wish you success–good luck is what people call it when preparation meets opportunity.
A few important things to remember: if you decide to ignore the rules and drink and drive,or smoke pot (yes, they will be testing), or get arrested for anything, you don’t just hurt yourself. You also hurt your family, all of your teammates, all of your coaches, and all of the BullDawg Nation. I sincerely hope that you care about yourselves and all of the rest of us who truly want the very best for you, and the very best from you.
GO DAWGS!!!
WOOF WOOF WOOF!!!
TheAlpha&OmegaDawg
June 6th, 2012
7:12 am
Protect the borders ; still to many elite players from Georgia going to play football in other states. Alabama and Auburn have won National Championships with the help of a large number of elite football players from Georgia.
Bulldawgman49
June 6th, 2012
7:14 am
Get them on the field see what they can do , The taylor kid looks big and strong , need that rotation in the SEC I hope he adjusts well . GO DAWGS !!!
claytondawg
June 6th, 2012
8:53 am
@Pj…I, too, like the attitude of the parents. Success begins at home and continues through life BECAUSE of the home front. Go ‘Dogs!!!
Joey
June 6th, 2012
9:21 am
“Don’t be so up-tight about Missouri dude, we WILL beat the living snot out of them….”
**********************************************
Glad to hear that Red Dog 77. I was actually worried about the game for a couple of reasons:
1) Our last few high-profile games away from Athens have been pathetic efforts – OK St, Colorado, UCF, Boise, LSU, Mich St
2) Mizzou’s first SEC game ever
3) Unable to remember the last time our head coach stood on the sideline and out-coached another head coach
But now that I know that we will beat Mizzou snotless, I’ll not worry a bit about that silly stuff . . .
scout 2
June 6th, 2012
9:45 am
To all of the “Bammers.” All I can say is that we never, ever, lost to Louisianna Monroe …..on our home field! The late Bear Bryant probably has never been receptive to even the slightest thought or acknowledgement of saban era national championships for still having his head permanently turned and lowered in shame due to the lowest embarrassment of being dominated on Tuscaloosa home turf by La. Monroe. Bammer town should have imposed self embarrassment sanctions of death penalty on football for 10 years after that humiliating home defeat. What an embarrassment that still shames and bears an ever present scar to our SEC tradition.
MT DAWG
June 6th, 2012
10:10 am
ATL 87 AUBURN FAN Still smartin from the absolute beatdown last year from the dogs…huh… worst awitburns scores once early and never gets another point.. Jawga scored forty somethin. wrong yr to talk….
Rampdawg
June 6th, 2012
10:17 am
I thought Jenkins was a Bama lock .HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
funny...
June 6th, 2012
10:19 am
Alabama fans, LOL
They have everything and yet they’re still laughed at.
Go Dawgs
June 6th, 2012
10:22 am
Exactly the kind of player we need…..”happy to be there”!!!!!
Gator
June 6th, 2012
11:49 am
@funny fan, Bama has 3 post season bowl bans , 21 vacated wins ,9 forfeits (1993) countless years on probation , are you proud of that?
sUGAr_daddy_DAWG
June 6th, 2012
12:15 pm
We need more Ronald Jenkins in this world.
Rampdawg
June 6th, 2012
1:00 pm
On this day 68 yrs. ago Americans and their allies gave their all on the beaches of Normandy, I just want to thank them for a job well done, and ask our Lord and Savior to bless them all. The living as well as the ones who gave the ultimate sacrafice. You truly were ……
“The Greatest Generation”
Jimmy Crack
June 6th, 2012
2:06 pm
TROLL TIDE!
Buckeye
June 6th, 2012
2:53 pm
Hey Isaiah, The Annointed One II,
Take a lead from Julio and cut the dreds. They just ain’t that cool.
Chill, Bro.
HardTruth Soldier
June 6th, 2012
3:03 pm
Love GEORGIA, but here’s reality, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and the Fla scrubs(Gators) have Nat’l titles. Ga doesn’t. So until we do we need not say to much. Let’s also realize Dawg fans that the second team place beat us twice in the last two years. We need to do it on the field. Now you’ve heard the Hard Truth.
joe taxpayer
June 6th, 2012
3:50 pm
Wish all of our kids had parents like that.
Hurt Kurbstreit
June 6th, 2012
4:07 pm
Sounds like Jordan Jenkins was brought up with a solid foundation from his parents. He will do just fine.
2012 UGA Football Offseason: Incoming Freshman Reporting To Campus | Georgia Bulldogs Football
June 6th, 2012
7:25 pm
[...] are less than 100 days from kickoff of the 2012 football season and 14 members of Georgia’s 2012 recruiting class arrived on campus on Monday and Tuesday to go through orientation and get acclimated to college [...]
strickdawg
June 6th, 2012
7:37 pm
Do Alabama fans think college football only started three years ago? Florida was decimating the nation a few years back and they didn’t constantly talk trash like those rednecks do. Fun fact: Richt is 3-1 against bama in his tenure at Georgia. All you updykes can ride that bandwagon back to your trailers because I know none of you were chanting roll tide after losing to ulm a few years back…
StackedDeck
June 6th, 2012
7:54 pm
“It is what it is…”congrats to the new dawgs on campus this week! GO DAWGS!!! Hooorah!!!
UGA / ‘74
J.L.
June 7th, 2012
1:56 am
Jordan please listen to your parentrens. Then ask God to guide you on this journey. Just say no to to the drugs and alcol. God bless you son.
uga1984
June 7th, 2012
9:11 am
Sounds like Jordan Jenkins has got a great set of parents!!!! All the best to him during his career at UGA.
Chris Mike
June 7th, 2012
9:51 am
Great! now the first advice for the newcomers…… stay the hell out of trouble!