Darnell Jenkins Signs With BC Lions

VANCOUVER — He’ll be going to B.C. Lions rookie camp, but, at age 29, receiver Darnell Jenkins is expected to have a little more polish than most first-year CFL prospects.

After spending two seasons on the practice roster of the New England Patriots -- one of four NFL organizations he’s spent time with -- Jenkins has had his rough edges worked over significantly by head coach Bill Belichick, offseason training partners Randy Moss and Deion Branch and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Brady has a reputation for being his own harshest critic. He not only places lofty expectations upon himself, he does so with his teammates.
Jenkins can attest to that.

“He’s very sharp mentally, and he expects you to keep up with him, or you get chewed out,” said Jenkins, one of four import receivers whose signings were announced Monday by the Lions. “He’ll call plays in the huddle, then change it at the line, and he expects you to run your routes properly, or he’ll have something to say about it.”

Even if Brady is one of the most accurate throwers in NFL history, his deliveries are not always on the money -- purposefully so, Jenkins said, to maintain an admirable touchdown-to-interception ratio. So a receiver had better be prepared to field a low or high throw or one that requires him to leave his feet.

“He’ll throw a ball low, to protect the route, and you better be able to get it,” Jenkins said. “He’s very strict about route running and ball placement. You need to be able to make the difficult catch.”

Jenkins was released by the Patriots after training camp last September and spent the winter in Boston training with NFL receivers Moss and Branch, who were equally demanding and gave him an earful if he slacked off. The former Miami Hurricane caught the Lions’ attention at an offseason free-agent camp in Dallas, for which Jenkins was prepped by his college teammate, Lions defensive back Anthony Reddick.

“Anthony told me that Canadian football is a very aggressive game,” Jenkins said. “And I consider myself an aggressive receiver. That’s something that Randy and Deion taught me. I loved working with those guys.”

The Lions other receiver signings include Mike Moore from Georgia, Juan Nunez from Western Michigan and Correy Earls from Georgia Tech. Moore (Detroit Lions) and Nunez (Cleveland Browns) also have some NFL experience.

The search has been on-going in B.C. to find a deep-threat, pass receiving complement to take away defensive pressure from Geroy Simon and Arland Bruce. Jenkins, who also returns kicks, feels he can be that guy.

Rookie camp opens Wednesday at Thompson Rivers University/Hillside Stadium in Kamloops. Veterans report on Saturday.


(vancouversun.com)