MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- It was about a month ago when Dave Johnson, the offensive line coach at West Virginia, was talking about something that caught the attention of Josh Jenkins.
"That it's extremely difficult for a true freshman to play offensive line," the two-time Hunt Award winner from Parkersburg High said.
True freshman offensive lineman Josh Jenkins, a Parkersburg High School product, is listed second at right guard on West Virginia University's depth chart.
Johnson actually said it was "very unreasonable" to expect a true freshman, even one as talented as Jenkins, to play. He even listed a number of reasons, from strength limitations to learning new techniques and then putting it all together in just a few weeks.
When he was the tight ends coach at Georgia last year, two Bulldogs played on the line as true freshmen and did fairly well.
"But it was out of necessity, an emergency situation," Johnson said. "Unless it's purely out of necessity, you'd rather not have that happen."
WVU's first fall depth chart came out Tuesday and the 6-foot-5, 305-pound Jenkins was listed as the backup at right guard. That status and the lack of a declaration he is redshirting might lead one to assume he's going to play this season.
"You can assume that," he said.
Jenkins said he knows his fate but would rather leave the clarification to Johnson or Coach Bill Stewart than announce it himself.
There remains a possibility Jenkins might not play this year, and Johnson has plenty of other backup options at guard who could keep Jenkins off the field and preserve his redshirt.
"I'm the No. 2 right guard right now," Jenkins said. "That's the position I play and I play about as much as everyone else does on the offensive line. We'll just see what happens."
What has happened already is Jenkins has positioned himself to at least be considered in his first year. The key, no doubt, is that Jenkins resisted the urge to think of himself as a first-year player.
"Sometimes you think about it and it kind of holds you back," he said. "You've got to snap to it and not feel bad for yourself if you mess up an assignment. You've got to act like an older kid, like a veteran, especially when you're getting yelled at. I feel like I'm young, but I've been here long enough that they know I should know what I'm doing."
His goal was not to play as a freshman. It was to simply play.
"It doesn't happen often and definitely not on the No. 1 offensive line in the country," Jenkins said. "I came in with the mindset that all I've got to do is put myself in a position where I stand out to the coaches when they watch the film."
It has worked and whatever his future, the fact he's in this situation at the present is nothing less than an indicator of his talent and progress. A left tackle in high school, he has made a rather swift and smooth change to a new position on a new side.
"It's how you prepare yourself and I had many opportunities to prepare myself," he said. "I played in the U.S. Army (high school All-American) game.
"I played for PHS, which is one of the powerhouse programs across the country, in my opinion, in football. You have to prepare yourself for this and how PHS runs its program is like a college program. It's about work ethic and if you come in with a good work ethic, you're going to be all right."
* * *
CHAZ RUSSELL, a junior college transfer from Pierce (Calif.) Community College who committed to WVU last week, did graduate on time and is on campus hoping to practice with the Mountaineers soon.
WVU is waiting to receive and approve his transcript before allowing him to participate. The 6-0, 195-pound Russell is immediately eligible to play.
Contact sports writer Mike Casazza at mi...@dailymail.com or 304-319-1142. His blog is at blogs.dailymail.com/wvu.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- It was about a month ago when Dave Johnson, the offensive line coach at West Virginia, was talking about something that caught the attention of Josh Jenkins.
"That it's extremely difficult for a true freshman to play offensive line," the two-time Hunt Award winner from Parkersburg High said.
Johnson actually said it was "very unreasonable" to expect a true freshman, even one as talented as Jenkins, to play. He even listed a number of reasons, from strength limitations to learning new techniques and then putting it all together in just a few weeks.
When he was the tight ends coach at Georgia last year, two Bulldogs played on the line as true freshmen and did fairly well.
"But it was out of necessity, an emergency situation," Johnson said. "Unless it's purely out of necessity, you'd rather not have that happen."
WVU's first fall depth chart came out Tuesday and the 6-foot-5, 305-pound Jenkins was listed as the backup at right guard. That status and the lack of a declaration he is redshirting might lead one to assume he's going to play this season.
"You can assume that," he said.
Jenkins said he knows his fate but would rather leave the clarification to Johnson or Coach Bill Stewart than announce it himself.
There remains a possibility Jenkins might not play this year, and Johnson has plenty of other backup options at guard who could keep Jenkins off the field and preserve his redshirt.
"I'm the No. 2 right guard right now," Jenkins said. "That's the position I play and I play about as much as everyone else does on the offensive line. We'll just see what happens."
What has happened already is Jenkins has positioned himself to at least be considered in his first year. The key, no doubt, is that Jenkins resisted the urge to think of himself as a first-year player.
"Sometimes you think about it and it kind of holds you back," he said. "You've got to snap to it and not feel bad for yourself if you mess up an assignment. You've got to act like an older kid, like a veteran, especially when you're getting yelled at. I feel like I'm young, but I've been here long enough that they know I should know what I'm doing."
His goal was not to play as a freshman. It was to simply play.
"It doesn't happen often and definitely not on the No. 1 offensive line in the country," Jenkins said. "I came in with the mindset that all I've got to do is put myself in a position where I stand out to the coaches when they watch the film."
It has worked and whatever his future, the fact he's in this situation at the present is nothing less than an indicator of his talent and progress. A left tackle in high school, he has made a rather swift and smooth change to a new position on a new side.
"It's how you prepare yourself and I had many opportunities to prepare myself," he said. "I played in the U.S. Army (high school All-American) game.
"I played for PHS, which is one of the powerhouse programs across the country, in my opinion, in football. You have to prepare yourself for this and how PHS runs its program is like a college program. It's about work ethic and if you come in with a good work ethic, you're going to be all right."
* * *
CHAZ RUSSELL, a junior college transfer from Pierce (Calif.) Community College who committed to WVU last week, did graduate on time and is on campus hoping to practice with the Mountaineers soon.
WVU is waiting to receive and approve his transcript before allowing him to participate. The 6-0, 195-pound Russell is immediately eligible to play.
Contact sports writer Mike Casazza at mi...@dailymail.com or 304-319-1142. His blog is at blogs.dailymail.com/wvu.
I live near the "Quincy Hill steps" in Parkersburg and see many of the Parkersburg athletes run the 175 steps to condition themselves. I noticed earlier this summer that Joshua Jenkins was running them with the current Big Reds voluntarily. I believe that says a great deal about his character and work ethic. He was encouraging his replacements at PHS and getting himself ready when he could have been relaxing. I wish him and his teammates the success that comes with hard work. I hear good things about Coach Stewart from people that have known him and feel WVU may have great success and a long term Mountaineer in this coach.
