Big visitor this weekend.

Re:Big visitor this weekend. (aMaizingMachine)

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:52 GMT

Rivals.

Wheaton (Md.) Our Lady of Good Counsel linebacker Jelani Jenkins has already been on a west coast trip to see UCLA, USC and Stanford. His next tour is underway as he's already been to Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame with Illinois on the list for Monday. Here's the latest on the nation's No. 10 player...

"We're headed to Illinois right now," said Maurice Jenkins, Jelani's father, on Monday late morning. "We were at Michigan on Saturday, Michigan State early Sunday and we visited Notre Dame late Sunday. After Illinois we'll head back home."

Starting with their first visit, how did they like Michigan?

"Michigan was impressive, we liked the facilties and the academics. They just built a new facility for academic support and Michigan has a good reputation for academics. And on the football side, they showed us Michigan's defense from last year and how Jelani would fit into it. We were really impressed with the strength program and the trainers, that was one of the most impressive things we saw."

And how was Michigan State?

"They are doing a lot of growing," Maurice said. "They are putting a lot of money into the program and making some major renovations so the dedication is there. We met with coach Gill and the defensive coordinator, coach Pat Narduzzi and were very grateful for the time they spent with us."

And after MSU, it was on to Notre Dame.

"The Notre Dame visit went great, it's a beautiful campus, the staff was very hospitable and coach Weis has a great knowledge of the game from his NFL days. We met with Corwin Brown who went through the X's and O's with us and showed us how Jelani would fit in. He'd be a weakside linebacker for them and do a lot of blitzing.
"But we got to see the depth chart, the facilities were nice and of course the academics are excellent there. And they have a great legacy of football."

Jelani also visited Virginia Tech since his trip to California and the Hokies also impressed.

"They were strong as well," said Maurice. "They've had one of the top defenses in the country for 10 years or so, the facilities are excellent and they have good coaches. We were impressed with them as well."

After the Illinois visit, the Jenkins family hopes to take another trip or two before the season starts.

"We'd like to get up to see Boston College and down to see Miami and maybe Florida if we can," he said. "By early September we hope to have the list down to 10 or 5 schools so we can start determining where we'd like to take official visits. For now we're just seeing as many places as we can, doing research on schools and gathering information."

Have any of the schools the family has visited recently -- Maryland, Virginia, Penn State, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, USC, UCLA and Stanford -- been eliminated from consideration?

"No, we're not going to do that until we finish our summer visits and then feel comfortable in narrowing it down," he said. "And there are some schools we won't be able to visit this summer that we're going to consider for official visits so we are just gathering info now."

Jenkins, who boasts a 4.0 GPA, registered 60 tackles, four sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and recovered two fumbles as a junior on defense. He also rushed for 791 yards and 16 touchdowns at running back.

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Re:Big visitor this weekend. (ScottsdaleBlue)

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:58:46 GMT

Just from the schools he's choosing it's very easy to see that he's looking to stimulate the brain.

Go Blue!!

Re:Big visitor this weekend. (OC Michigan Fan)

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:54:31 GMT

EFWolverine

Big in profile, not size.

5-star OLB Jelani Jenkins from Maryland is visiting Michigan this weekend (today, apparently). Jenkins, unlike some (most), has been really quiet about his recruitment. He says academics are his #1 priority (he's a 4.0 student). He says no school is leading for him, and he won't do any narrowing down until he sees all the schools he's considering.

Others in the race: Penn State, Maryland, Virginia, Notre Dame, USC, Stanford, etc...high profile, high academic places.

Lets hope Shari Acho can work some magic.

Perhaps he could teach the Forcier family a thing or 2 about laying low!

Re:Big visitor this weekend. (thenickster)

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:29:01 GMT

GoBlueWalls

Wasn't she one of the main contributors to landing newsome too?

Yes she was. Academics was a major factor for Newsome and his family. He holds a 3.7 GPA in high school. I think Newsome even mentioned her in an article on rivals saying how he was really impressed with her.

Re:Big visitor this weekend. (GoBlueWalls)

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:01:19 GMT

Wasn't she one of the main contributors to landing newsome too?

Re:Big visitor this weekend. (victors2000)

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:49:37 GMT

Lol, I wonder if she feels a lot of pressure advising the recruits!

Re:Big visitor this weekend. (EFWolverine)

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:42:14 GMT

MaizeRage6320

Shari Acho? Who's that?

He is a crazy fast 'backer, getting him would be huge for the defense.

I'm not sure what her official title is, but she's like an academic advisor. She talks to all the recruits when they visit about the academic aspects of the university and what things would be like for them as students if/when they attend Michigan.

Re:Big visitor this weekend. (MaizeRage6320)

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:02:06 GMT

Shari Acho? Who's that?

He is a crazy fast 'backer, getting him would be huge for the defense.

Big visitor this weekend. (EFWolverine)

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 04:06:21 GMT

Big in profile, not size.

5-star OLB Jelani Jenkins from Maryland is visiting Michigan this weekend (today, apparently). Jenkins, unlike some (most), has been really quiet about his recruitment. He says academics are his #1 priority (he's a 4.0 student). He says no school is leading for him, and he won't do any narrowing down until he sees all the schools he's considering.

Others in the race: Penn State, Maryland, Virginia, Notre Dame, USC, Stanford, etc...high profile, high academic places.

Lets hope Shari Acho can work some magic.