Janoris Jenkins a senior cornerback for the Florida Gators football team was arrested for the third time in 23 months on April 23, 2011 at 12:35 for possession for marijuana. Florida's new head coach Will Muschamp will now be forced to make a decision get rid or arguably one of the best players in the country? Or sent a precedent that behavior like Jenkins will be tolerated? Recently Sports Illustrated did a study on the high rate of arrest in college football citing that University of Pittsburgh for having the highest arrest percentage 1 and every 4 players has been arrested. Though what happened on the field this season was a direct reflection of their off field behavior and as a result Pittsburgh’s staff was fired. Furthermore, supporting this claim is unfortunately Bowling Green when head coach Dave Clawson arrived the image of a Bowling Green player was extremely negative and best summed up in a mug shot. As a result, coach brought in a set of rules that would apply to all regardless of importance to the team. This set of rules and Coach Clawson’s word was unfortunately tested his first year when our best player violated a serious team rule and was suspended for 6 games. Had we had this player in all likelihood we would have won the conference title. Though Coach is a man of morals and sticking with his guns the image of the Bowling Green football has undergone a transformation. So what will Muschamp do with Jenkins? In all likelihood give him a 2 game suspension and the kid will play 10 games before getting drafted next April and making millions of dollars in the NFL. However, should he let him play? If not playing Jenkins risks winning and losing I imagine Muschamp will let him play. If I were a coach in my first season at Florida I unfortunately would probably have to let the young man play. I would suspend him but ultimately coaches are judge by one number and that is the number of wins.
April 23, 2011
Will Muschamp era was the same as the first.
Florida senior cornerback Janoris Jenkins was arrested for possession of marijuana for the second time in three months early Saturday morning. It's also Jenkins' third arrest in the past 23 months.
According to a Gainesville Police Department report obtained by the Florida Times-Union, a GPD officer noticed Jenkins sitting in a car in a parking lot at 104 N. Main St. smoking a marijuana cigar at 12:35 a.m.
Jenkins was given a notice to appear in court on May 12 for being in possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis.
Jenkins recently plead to a misdemeanor charge for possession of marijuana, and on March 18 he was ordered to pay $316 in court fines and had adjudication withheld.
Muschamp said the team would discipline Jenkins for that first possession incident internally, and UF has not yet commented on Saturday's arrest.
Jenkins was also Tasered and arrested on May 30, 2009 for resisting arrest after being involved in a fight. He signed a deferred prosecution agreement and had the charge lifted from his record after paying the fees and staying out of trouble for six months.
Jenkins decided to return to Florida this offseason rather than declare for the NFL Draft and skip his senior season because a shoulder injury would have prevented him from being able to workout for NFL teams before the draft. He had surgery on his shoulder and missed all of Spring Practice, just recently getting cleared to start football related activities. Jeremy Brown, Cody Riggs and true freshman De'Ante Saunders would be the three candidates likely to benefit the most from a possible suspension of Jenkins for the start of the season.
The second arrest in the ![]() | ![]() |
Getty Images | |
![]() | |
Janoris Jenkins was arrest for the third time in 23 months Saturday morning. |
According to a Gainesville Police Department report obtained by the Florida Times-Union, a GPD officer noticed Jenkins sitting in a car in a parking lot at 104 N. Main St. smoking a marijuana cigar at 12:35 a.m.
Jenkins was given a notice to appear in court on May 12 for being in possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis.
Jenkins recently plead to a misdemeanor charge for possession of marijuana, and on March 18 he was ordered to pay $316 in court fines and had adjudication withheld.
Muschamp said the team would discipline Jenkins for that first possession incident internally, and UF has not yet commented on Saturday's arrest.
Jenkins was also Tasered and arrested on May 30, 2009 for resisting arrest after being involved in a fight. He signed a deferred prosecution agreement and had the charge lifted from his record after paying the fees and staying out of trouble for six months.
Jenkins decided to return to Florida this offseason rather than declare for the NFL Draft and skip his senior season because a shoulder injury would have prevented him from being able to workout for NFL teams before the draft. He had surgery on his shoulder and missed all of Spring Practice, just recently getting cleared to start football related activities. Jeremy Brown, Cody Riggs and true freshman De'Ante Saunders would be the three candidates likely to benefit the most from a possible suspension of Jenkins for the start of the season.
The points you raise in your post are very interesting and one I think that will spark a lot of controversy. I am going to stay nuetral on what my own decision would be bc, in all honesty, I am scared to think that I would let them play as well. I wonder what the stats are of players who have arrest records in college continue to make the same poor decisions if or when they go pro?
ReplyDeleteThe desire to win has become so important, that good people such as the coaches can make bad decisions. Coaches such as Coach Clawson make football more reputable in college, but unfortunately, the team wins are what the fans really care about. Too many unethical players are given too long of a rope because of their athleticism. I think the NCAA has started clamping down more on the rules in the last couple of years because many player's behaviors are so out of hand. On a positive note, Jenkins was released from the team.
ReplyDeleteI think this is an extremely tough decision and one that makes me think long and hard about potentially becoming a head coach. It is compounded by the fact the Muschamp is entering his first season with the Gators and looking to make a good impression. That being said, I feel that he had to let Jenkins go. Muschamp has to establish his authority and provide the direction for the team. No one player is bigger than the team and the more coaches are willing to defend that line of thinking the fewer issues we will see, in my opinion. As I say this, I do bare in mind that these same coaches, myself included, are charged with the task of winning and this decision will directly impact that. At Florida, however, I'm sure they have enough talent to survive.
ReplyDeleteThis has to be one of the biggest dilemmas that big-time college coaches face, especially in the revenue sports. I wonder if it will ultimately be the undoing of Coach Tressel at OSU. I heard that Kirk Herbstreit and others are saying that Coach Tressel needs to stop recruiting players like Pryor and Maurice Clarett.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, there is a book entitled Pros and cons, that details the number of professional football players who have been in trouble with the law. It was about 20% of players in the league--I am amazed that Pittsburg had an even higher rate at 25%. I am glad that Coach Clawson has stuck to his standards!!