Oct. 12, 2010
by Malcolm Butler
Ross Jenkins is a competitor.
According to the senior signal caller, he got his competitiveness from his late father Mark who "never wasted an opportunity" to get him and his younger brother Max outside to play when they were growing up.
"Dad coached me all the way up to high school," Ross said. "He always loved sports, and I assume that's where Max, (sister) Regan and I get our love for them. We also got our competitive spirit from him."
As Ross plays his final year in a Bulldog uniform, it's his father's spirit that lives within him.
It's also the strength and determination he developed from those daily battles in the backyard with his Dad and little brother that have helped him overcome the challenges of the last year.
Starting with an ill-advised decision to drive following a Super Bowl party in early February - that led to a DUI - to his father's sudden passing in March due to a heart attack, to losing his starting spot as the Bulldogs quarterback this August, Ross Jenkins has faced his share of heartache and challenges.
In fact over the last eight months, he has had to face and overcome more adversity than many others his age.
However, Ross Jenkins is a competitor.
Whether it was from some gene passed down from his father or from the lessons learned on the playing fields with Max and Mark, Ross has used his competitive spirit to benefit him during these tough times.
"I definitely think that has helped me through this," Ross said. "(The strength) came from somewhere. I feel myself having to take on that (competitive) mindset at times. Everyone always says what doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger. It's a cliché, but I honestly believe it's true. In every situation there is something you can learn and grow from that will benefit you later on in life."
Mark would be proud. Felicia, Ross' mother, is.
"He has really grown," Felicia said. "I just told Ross that life always has challenges. It's how you recover from adversity that determines your character. I told him that this was his fork in the road, and it was up to him."
Life lessons can be tough to learn. Waiting to be released the following morning following his arrest, Ross had plenty of time to think, to reflect and to learn a tough lesson - one he'll never forget.
"Embarrassment and guilt," said Ross, describing what he felt that night. Although he was not the first college student to learn this lesson the hard way, it's one that high profile student-athletes such as Ross learn publically.
"The first thing that went through my mind was that I let my team down," he said. "I really hurt the team. The second thing that popped into my mind was my dad and my family. I knew that I had embarrassed Louisiana Tech and my family. That was the hardest part."
According to his mother, his parents didn't sugar coat their message to their oldest child; they used tough love.
"He could either be 110 percent committed to going in the right direction, or he could continue down that destructive (path)," said Felicia. "He has taken a 180-degree turn, and he is a very mature young man. He just decided that was enough, and that it was time to grow up and move on."
Not surprising.
After all, Ross Jenkins is a competitor.
After fulfilling the obstacles that new head coach Sonny Dykes outlined in order for Ross to remain a Bulldog following the incident, the Houston native was preparing to begin his final spring practice.
That's when the next hurdle fell - this one making the previous one look almost miniscule - as Ross received a phone call informing him of his father's passing. Back home in Houston with his family, Ross was inundated with calls, texts and notes from his extended family in Ruston.
"I found out what great friends I really have," Ross said. "Basically, they acted like a family to me. You find out who really cares. I can't imagine going through what I went through anywhere else. The guys (on this team) who I have bonded with were so unbelievable. They did more than I could ever have imagined.
"The coaches were great too, even with it being a new staff and us not really knowing each other very well. They were so genuine in everything they did. I am so thankful for coach (Sonny) Dykes, coach (Tony) Franklin and all the coaches here. I've had support from all of them. They've helped me get through it."
While spring practice began on the Tech campus, Ross remained in Houston with his family. Max, who is a junior quarterback at Army, had returned home. The two brothers were there for their mother and their sister Regan, who is a junior at Langham Creek High School.
Although facing the most difficult time of their life, Ross said his family got through it together.
"The months of February and March were tough," Ross said. "The biggest thing was growing up. I really felt like I needed to step up for my family; my mom, brother and sister. Our family as a unit has gotten so much stronger. My mom has been great. She is an amazing person, and she has had a lot of help from her friends. My brother and sister have been unbelievable. They are so much more mature than their ages."
After making sure everyone was at a point where he felt confident that he could leave, Ross returned to Ruston. With spring classes starting and spring practice underway, life had to return to some form of normality and for Ross ... that meant practice.
After all, Ross Jenkins is a competitor.
Fresh off earning his undergraduate degree in economics during the spring commencement exercises in late May, Ross began his MBA course work during the summer while staying in Ruston and working out with his teammates.
After starting at quarterback the past two years for the Bulldogs, Ross knew that he was in for a battle during his senior season. With a new head coach, a new coordinator, a new offensive scheme and plenty of quarterbacks on the roster, the competition was wide open and nothing was going to be easy.
It hasn't been.
One week into fall drills, Dykes named Steven Ensminger the starting quarterback. "It was definitely disappointing," Ross said. "I'm a competitor. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want to be in that (starting) role."
Ross Jenkins responded in true form.
Jenkins actually won the job back prior to the season opener and completed 15-of-19 passes for 101 yards before being pulled late in the third quarter of the 20-6 win over Grambling State.
Since then the only game action he has seen has been as the holder on field goals and extra points. However, he has the right attitude on the situation.
"Coaches say all the time that we chose the position, the position didn't choose us," Ross said. "We chose to (play quarterback) and to be that guy. So we can't complain if it doesn't work out like we want.
"The quarterbacks - all of us - we are a pretty tight group. There is no hostility. We all realize it's a competition, and we all go out and give our best effort. At the end of the day, it's not our decision so why worry about it? We support each other throughout the entire process."
Ross' unselfishness and toughness have not gone unnoticed by the Tech coaching staff. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for Ross and how he has handled everything that has happened to him both on and off the field," said Dykes. "It shows how tough he is."
Not surprising.
After all, Ross Jenkins is a competitor.
With only seven regular season games remaining in his college career, Ross Jenkins has come a long way since he first stepped on the Tech campus in the summer of 2006. He has seen plenty of highs, and he has seen plenty of lows. However, through it all, he has continued to grow as a young man.
"I believe the success he has had in his life reassures him that there is more in store for him down the road," Felicia said. "This was just another little bump."
Call it a mother's intuition.
With the Bulldogs trailing 24-0 late Saturday night at Hawaii, Ross was called upon midway through the second quarter. He responded like a competitor, completing 19-of-26 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns as Tech pulled to within striking distance in the second half before falling.
It's that competitive nature that developed from an early age playing ball with his father and younger brother in the yard that has allowed Ross Jenkins to handle all of the adversity of the last eight months.
"I know saying that I've grown up is cliché, but I feel like I've learned a lot about how to handle responsibility," he said. "Out of these difficult life situations, I've taken that next step into the real world."
Although Ross Jenkins' real world will no longer contain the physical presence of his father, Mark Jenkins' spirit still lives within his eldest son.
Not surprising.
After all, just like his father was ... Ross Jenkins is a competitor.
