The video starts with a jolt.
The running back takes a handoff, but by the time he grips the ball, he's already bracing for impact. From off-screen, a white blur dashes through the offensive line untouched and plows straight through the hapless back.
Ball and carrier are separated instantly, and both lie motionless on the turf for a moment.
That blur, the one that moves too fast for even the slow-motion replay, is Olney (Md.) Our Lady of Good Counsel High linebacker Jelani Jenkins. The highlight tape is almost four minutes long, but the first five seconds are all it takes to realize Jenkins' sky-high potential.
"One of the recruiters saw that first hit, and he shut the tape off and said, 'He's got a scholarship,'" Jelani's father, Maurice, said. "He didn't need to see any more."
But that hit isn't the most impressive part of the highlight, nor are the other crushing blows, rushing touchdowns or catches that follow.
It's the date the video was uploaded to YouTube.com: Nov. 23, 2007.
The plays are from Jenkins' junior season. He was 15 years old.
He has accelerated through life in much the same manner that he accelerated through that poor running back.
Now, after turning 17 earlier this month, Jenkins is preparing to enter the major college football landscape when he joins the UF football team this summer.
He'll be five years younger than UF linebacker Ryan Stamper when he arrives in Gainesville, but if his past performances are any indication, the age difference won't be a problem.
"I always have to keep reminding people that he's 16 years old," Maurice Jenkins said in February. "He should be playing JV instead of varsity. When he was 14, he was playing offense and defense on varsity against 18-year-olds - and dominating them."
Destined for Stardom
Jenkins' road to becoming a sought-after recruit and decorated student-athlete started at the Roots Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., a school that stresses African heritage and holistic education.
At Roots, students advance through grades based on individual progress, and they're grouped in a multi-grade fashion to stimulate development.
Students in grades five through eight take classes together, as do first- through fourth-graders, so the younger children are exposed to more advanced knowledge and the older children learn how to be role models and leaders.
Jenkins flourished in this environment, skipping a grade early and excelling despite being younger than his peers from the first grade on.
Maurice Jenkins, a well-known architect in the D.C. area, stressed to his son that "age is just a number," making it clear that nothing should stop Jelani from achieving what he wanted. That carried over into football.
"I remember telling him when he was younger that every time he gets the ball, he's supposed to score," Maurice Jenkins said. "I would smile to myself because he went out there thinking he should score every time."
The mentality caught on, and one afternoon Jenkins put that plan into action. When he was 8 years old, he ripped off 300 rushing yards in one game, scoring on runs of 85, 65 and 99 yards.That was all it took to convince Maurice that his son was destined for a great football career. But Jenkins was more interested in playing hard-hitting defense, a sentiment that was clear each time he carried the ball.
"He had this thing about knocking kids out," Maurice said. "Every game, he was just a little guy, but he would knock out two or three guys a game - and he was running the ball. These kids were trying to stop him."
Jenkins' reputation as a big hitter was partially due to one of his other hobbies. By age 9, he was a second-degree brown belt in karate - he was too young to be awarded a black belt - and the skills he learned in that sport helped him lay waste to opponents on the gridiron.
"We focused a lot on breathing and being powerful on contact," Jenkins said. "We used to break boards, and they always told us to go through the board. Don't hit the board, go through it. So that mentality helps me out when I hit."
Maurice said: "The analysts say he's not a big hitter, he's a violent hitter. There's a difference."
Jenkins' playing style drew attention from private high schools in the area, and he enrolled at Good Counsel High for ninth grade.
As Jenkins and Falcons coach Bob Milloy are quick to point out, he didn't get off to a fast start, but at the end of the freshman team's season, he gave an indication of what he would provide for the next three years.
When tailback Caleb Porzel - who signed with Maryland this year - was injured before the season finale against rival DeMatha Catholic High, Jenkins filled in and ran for three touchdowns.
The performance helped convince Milloy that Jenkins was ready for the next level. The following year, Jenkins joined the varsity squad and became a two-way starter at fullback and linebacker at 14 years old.
Stepping Into the Spotlight
In his junior season, Jenkins put together another defining game against DeMatha.
The Stags, who have won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference football championship six years running, entered the matchup having not lost a conference game in 1,114 days.
Jenkins ran for 79 yards and a touchdown in his team's 28-24 win, and he set the tone early with his jaw-dropping hit on Stags running back Ashby Christian. Skip past the clip of his hit on Christian from the highlight tape, and there's a better play, one that Milloy lists as his favorite.
On the play, DeMatha receiver Rodney McLeod - who played in nine games for Virginia last season as a defensive back - catches a slant pass, spins off the safety and seems destined for a touchdown.
There's no one in front of him, and the speedy Division-1 prospect has a solid 5-yard head start on the nearest defensive player, Jenkins.
But Jenkins accelerates in a heartbeat and closes the gap on McLeod with a frightening burst of speed. He dives, extends his right arm and drags McLeod down instantly, and when Jenkins bounces back up, he's holding the ball.
In one fluid motion, Jenkins made the tackle and took the ball.
"The referee said it wasn't a fumble, and after the game, I brought it up," Milloy said. "(The ref) said, 'Coach, I blew that one. I've never seen anyone do that in my life. I blew that, and I apologize.' (McLeod) is a good athlete, and Jelani ended up with the ball before they hit the ground."
Jenkins racked up awards, including the 2007 and 2008 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year titles, and he was rated the nation's top outside linebacker by Rivals.com. He finished his career with 187 tackles, more than 2,000 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns.
Jenkins has caused turnovers, crushed quarterbacks and run through defenders, but his fondest memory involves little to no personal glory.
His junior season, St. John's High ran an option from the 1-yard line, but Jenkins stuffed the ball carrier for an 8-yard loss, and a teammate made an interception on the next play.
It seems mundane, but it speaks more to his character than any of the big plays he made as a prep star.
The Matrix
Jenkins put together a solid career on offense, but defense always held more of an allure.
"On defense, you don't know what they're going to do, so the challenge is figuring that out," he said. "You can always be in the play on defense. Unless you're a quarterback, you're not really in control, but if you're on defense you can run anywhere you want."
His love of a mental challenge benefited him off the field as well.
With a GPA above 4.0 because of credit from Advanced Placement courses, Jenkins became the first player in the 71-year history of the Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C., to win defensive player and scholar athlete of the year awards.
He's so focused on school that he's even reluctant to miss class for a good reason.
"This is a kid who's whistling in the morning when it's time to go to school," Maurice Jenkins said. "On National Signing Day, he said, 'Dad, how long is this going to be? I don't want to miss any of my classes.' I said, 'It's OK, this is your day. You'll be all right.'"
When Jenkins made an all-state team, he was supposed to drive to the Baltimore Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium to have his picture taken. But even with the principal's permission, Jenkins refused to skip class.
"Now, he has an 'A' in the class already, and he's graduating in three months, so I'm thinking to myself, 'Who the hell really cares?'" Milloy said. "But he did not get his picture taken. They had to go to the archives and get it, and he wasn't in the team picture either because he was afraid of missing this class."
With his two-way ability, vicious hitting, blazing speed and high marks in school, Jenkins drew tons of attention from colleges across the country.
To sort through all his possible destinations, Jenkins and his family devised a matrix to rate each school in a variety of categories, such as diversity, national academic ranking and current football record.
Then, they narrowed the list to 15 schools and ranked the categories by what was most important, and the computer program played a big role in his decision to play 800 miles from home on signing day.
"When we ranked the teams, the top five out of the 15 were colored green and the lowest five were red," Jenkins said. "Florida was green all the way across the board, and it was the only school that did that. That's how Florida jumped out at us."
Great Expectations
The bar has been high for Jenkins ever since he signed with the Gators on Feb. 4.
At his press conference that day, UF coach Urban Meyer gushed about Jenkins' talent, his attitude and his family - his mother, Stephanie Hall, played basketball at Howard University and has a black belt.
"I'll be disappointed if he's not a captain at Florida some day," Meyer said.
But at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds and 17 years of age, Jenkins is likely to need some time to develop.
His speed is game-ready - he ran the 40-yard dash in just over 4.4 seconds - but Jenkins will have to pack on some weight before he can play linebacker in the Southeastern Conference.
But the good news is he's still not done growing, and a spurt could make him the replacement for Brandon Spikes at middle linebacker.
"His dad is about 6-4, 260 and really put together," Milloy said. "He has two more years of growing. He could be a 6-foot-4, 240-pound linebacker. His upside, physically, is unbelievable."
Whether he hits a growth spurt or not, Jenkins won't be fazed by his age. It has never been any other way.
"My whole life, I've been the younger one and adapted to people older than me," he said. "I was constantly reminded that I was younger, but I never really saw it that way. Age has never been a problem for me.
"Obviously in college, there will be people who are a lot bigger than me because they are older. It's going to be a challenge, but I just have to work hard and get ready for it. It won't be too much of a difference for me."
