'09 FL DE Brandon Jenkins (FSU Verbal)

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Tallahassee (FL) Florida High School

Ht: 6-foot-2
Wt: 220 lbs
Forty: 4.7 secs
GPA: 2.9
Class: 2009 (High School)

Rivals: 2009 Top 100

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3/1

FSU verbal.

Jenkins stays home with the 'Noles | tallahassee.com | Tallahassee Democrat

Brandon Jenkins decided that home is exactly where he wanted to be.

Jenkins, the standout defensive end from Florida High, called Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher on Saturday afternoon and became the sixth football player to publicly commit to the Seminoles for the Class of 2009. He wasted little time in making his decision after earning a scholarship offer from FSU earlier in the week.

"That's the school where I always wanted to be," Jenkins said. "I had the opportunity now, so why not take it?"

Jenkins becomes the first Florida High player to commit to FSU since Andy Crowe in 1991. Former Florida High standout James Coleman walked on as a fullback at Florida State and later earned a scholarship.

Jenkins' 15 sacks and 27 tackles for losses earned him a first-team spot on the Tallahassee Democrat's All-Big Bend football team. He may also merit consideration for the second- or third-team honors on the Democrat's All-Big Bend basketball team — a sport where he helped lead the Seminoles to the Class 3A regional finals.

A 6-foot-4 defensive end, Jenkins finished up the football season weighing 235 pounds. He said he walked off the basketball courts last week 10 pounds lighter but plans to spend the rest of this spring and summer bulking back up in the weight room.

Florida High football coach Jarrod Hickman said Jenkins has already left his mark on the Seminoles' campus.

"We tease him — and I know this is probably cliche — but everyone calls him a gentle giant," Hickman said. "He's so quiet, so well-mannered. He's one of the biggest kids on the whole campus, but he doesn't talk a whole lot. He's a good student. And when he puts that football uniform on, he's clearly a different person."

And he's right at home at Florida State.

Jenkins first enrolled at Florida High — the lab school whose official name is Florida State University School — in kindergarten. He now has a chance to graduate from the university, meaning he will technically be in the same school for his entire educational career.

"He's going to be a 13-year club member at our school," Hickman said. "He's grown up a Seminole. At our old campus, you could look across the school and see Doak Campbell Stadium. I know it's always been his dream to play in that stadium."

Jenkins said it was also his desire to end the recruiting process early once he realized he could make his childhood dream come true.

"I'm relieved now," Jenkins said. "All this stress — you shouldn't have to go through it if the school you wanted to be at had already offered you a scholarship. So that's why I decided to do it now."

He said he turned down scholarship offers from Kentucky, Tennessee, Miami, South Carolina, FIU, UCF and Rutgers among others.

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4/13

From the FSU site. Jenkins loved his visit to FSU, and says he liked seeing the coaching side of things. He talked to some of the '09 guys and the fact that they could make an impact on Florida State.