By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Linebacker Mark Jenkins, who has overcome injuries
and adversity, will finally get to start for UH against
Air Force on Saturday.
Adversity can’t
sideline Jenkins
The Rainbows' linebacker
By Paul Arnett
overcomes injuries to start
Star-BulletinIf a contest was held to name the favorite fifth-year player on the University of Hawaii football team, his name wouldn't be on the list. Go up to someone on the street and ask, "Did you know that Mark Jenkins is a starting inside linebacker for the Rainbows?"
The reply would be, "Who?"
But for all the anonymity the senior from Georgia has carried with him since telling former UH offensive coordinator Paul Johnson that he would pack his bags and leave Atlanta, Jenkins is well-known by his teammates and well respected by his coaches.
"Mark Jenkins is a warrior," wide receiver Johnny Macon said.
"I could talk to you all day and not be able to tell you how much I admire and respect a player like Mark Jenkins," defensive coordinator Don Lindsey said.
"He's a leader in our locker room. The guys really look up to him," linebacker coach Tom Williams said. "They respect the fact that he's gone through so much."
Therein lies his story.
Jenkins was a hot commodity after his senior season at Lakeside High School in Atlanta. Coaches from Penn State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, East Carolina, Ohio State and Mississippi recruited the 5-foot-11, 220-pounder with legitimate 4.5 speed in the 40.
But Jenkins didn't score high enough on his SAT test until the summer of 1993. By then, most of the interest from the major schools had passed.
Only Johnson patiently remained with a Hawaii scholarship in hand. So even after Auburn made a late run at him, Jenkins committed to Hawaii. It turned out to be one of those defining moments.
"He could have gone to Auburn and been a part of that unbeaten season they had," cornerback Al Hunter said.
"But he came here to be with us. I'm glad he did."
Jenkins was redshirted like everyone else in the recruiting class of 1993, except fellow Georgia resident Carlton Oswalt. It was just former Hawaii head coach Bob Wagner's way.
As a redshirt freshman, Jenkins played in only four games on special teams before severely injuring his knee in a freak moped accident.
He was able to rehab quickly enough to return in 1995, but blew out his other knee after tripping on the carpet at Nevada-Las Vegas.
Wagner was fired before the season ended, and after Jenkins' mother died, he returned home to Georgia and almost didn't come back.
"Mark could have quit right there and nobody would have blamed him," fifth-year senior Eddie Klaneski said.
"But he didn't. He came back and worked even harder to be where he is today."
Today he's the starting inside linebacker for the Rainbows, but Lindsey and company weren't sold on Jenkins overnight.
Like 1994 and 1995, Jenkins played sparingly in head coach Fred vonAppen's first year. His knees were better, but not well enough to handle the rigors of linebacker.
"You could tell that he probably was one heck of a football player before those knee injuries," Lindsey said. "Sometimes I watch him now and think about what might have been for him.
"He's a special kind of person every coach dreams about having on his team. He's what I call a football player. He loves the game and understands it."
That's because it has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. Born in Decatur, Ga., Jenkins followed in his family's football footsteps.
Brother Rory Graves was good enough for a cup of coffee with the Green Bay Packers. And had things worked out differently, Jenkins might have been a part of this year's NFL Draft.
"But they didn't and that's probably for a reason I don't understand yet," Jenkins said. "The man up above kept pushing me to go.
"I put all my faith and love in God. It was meant to be because he put me here. Now I finally got the opportunity to start and play my senior year.
"I always knew I had the ability to do it, but there were just a lot of setbacks. Sometimes it still goes through my mind -- what if I had gone some place else. But the path was made and it took me here."
Coming into this season, UH wasn't too kind to Jenkins. He had two -- count them -- two tackles. But with the injury to inside linebacker Stephen Gonzales, Jenkins moved high enough up on the depth chart to grab the attention of Williams and Lindsey.
"You watch him in the game the other night," Williams said. "And he's telling (third-leading tackler) Doug Rosevold what to do and where he should line up.
"He's a team guy. He wants to do whatever it takes to win. He's one of those dream kind of guys for coaches -- yes sir, no sir. No sass. He tries to do it exactly how you tell him to do it.
"He grew up in the South where football is big. He knows what real football is supposed to be like. He has a good knowledge of the game. He learns his plays and takes copious notes in our team meetings. He knows what everybody is doing on every play."
But this is it for Jenkins, who is tied for 15th in tackles with 17. He also has two pass break ups. After this season, he wants to be a psychologist.
"I may be a sports psychologist, I don't know, we'll see," the soft-spoken Jenkins said. "The main thing is I've enjoyed my experience here. I've learned life has funny turns and twists. You just have to take what comes and make the most of it."
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