Ohio State 2005-2008 DB - Malcolm Jenkins (All B1G, All-American, Thorpe Award, 2x Super Bowl Champion)

Saint's Jenkins draws high praise from coaches
By BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writer

METAIRIE, La. - When Malcolm Jenkins intercepted a couple Drew Brees passes in the early days of Saints training camp, it was apparent he'd been doing his homework during the NFL lockout.

"He's a smart player. The decisions he makes on the field are generally the right ones," head coach Sean Payton said. "He's really become an outstanding player and it's happening right in front of our eyes. We saw signs of it in his rookie season, and we certainly saw it in his contributions last year."

Only a year ago, Jenkins was trying to learn a new position.

He had been drafted as a cornerback out of Ohio State in 2009, but in his second season, it became evident that former Pro Bowl free safety Darren Sharper would not be healthy enough to start the season, and someone would have to fill the void.

Jenkins wound up playing well enough that he never really lost his starting job even after Sharper returned to the active roster in midseason. Sharper started three games at free safety in 2010, but the main reason was because the coaching staff respected Jenkins' versatility enough to let him start three games at cornerback because of injuries at that spot.

Heading into his third season, Jenkins is not only entrenched as the starting free safety, but defensive coordinator Gregg Williams considers him one of the leaders of his unit.

"If he stays healthy," Williams began, "he'll go down as one of the better Saints of all-time, just because of his character, his ability, his want-to, everything."

Cont...
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http://www.theledger.com/article/20110805/APS/1108050957

 

New Orleans Saints: Free safety is a lock with Malcolm Jenkins
Mike Triplett Sporting News

It's hard to believe that this time last year, Malcolm Jenkins was still making the transition from cornerback to free safety, and the notion that he was going to replace Darren Sharper as the full-time starter seemed like a long shot.

By season's end, Jenkins might have been the New Orleans Saints' most valuable defensive player. He was a natural playmaker at the back end of the defense and twice earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Malcolm Jenkins has fallen into the ranks of outstanding free safeties.

At 6-foot, 204 pound, Jenkins has great size and speed, great football instincts, and he's one of the most devoted workers on the team. He studies film feverishly and has become an instant favorite of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who says Jenkins wants to be "great."

Now entering his third NFL season, Jenkins seems like a poised veteran, and he gives the Saints a real play-making presence at an important position.
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New Orleans Saints: Free safety is a lock with Malcolm Jenkins - NFL - Sporting News

 

New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins draws high praise from teammate Alex Brown
Published: Wednesday, August 24, 2011
By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

Third-year New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins drew high praise from veteran teammate Alex Brown on Wednesday. Brown, who played college ball at Florida before spending his first eight seasons with the Chicago Bears, said he has played with three "special" players in his career - defensive end Jevon Kearse, linebacker Brian Urlacher and now Jenkins.

Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has spoken in similar lofty terms of Jenkins in the past, too, saying he strives to be a true all-time great in the NFL and has the tireless work ethic to show for it.

Jenkins started to flash his potential last year with two NFC Defensive Player of the Week awards down the stretch, and he was painfully missed in the Saints' playoff loss at Seattle with a knee injury in January.

Obviously expectations are even higher this year for the former first-round pick, who switched from cornerback to free safety last summer.
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New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins draws high praise from teammate Alex Brown | NOLA.com

 

Malcolm Jenkins DB, New Orleans: Finished with 4 solo tackles and 1 assist in a 42-34 loss to Green Bay......

 

Malcolm Jenkins, DB, New Orleans: Had two tackles and three assists in a 30-13 win over Chicago.

 

Saints: Malcolm Jenkins Post Game Sound

The Saints defense was tough on the Chicago Bears. The defense had six sacks on quarterback Jay Cutler. The Saints were also heavy hitters. Roman Harper hit Earl Bennett so hard that he was not able to return to the game.

"That was one of the emphasis, to come out and be physical. A lot of people try to mark us as a finesse team, we wanted to make an emphasis this week, we were out there hitting," Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins said.

Jenkins had 5 tackles on the day, and when he brought someone done it was with a hard hit. Jenkins talks about how the defense stepped it up a notch.

"Third down was the biggest emphasis and we did a great job, especially our corners doing a lot, knocking some balls down. Our offense putting up some points allowed us to play them one dimensionally, we knew what they had to do. When the offense puts up oints, it allows us to play the style of defense we want." Jenkins said.
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Saints: Malcolm Jenkins Post Game Sound | WJTV

 

• Malcolm Jenkins, CB, New Orleans: Had five tackles in a 40-33 win over Houston.

 

Malcolm through 3 games.....

Solo-10 | Ast-5 | Tot-15 | Int-0

 

Do you have any young guys that have stepped into leadership roles on your unit?

"Malcolm Jenkins has been an amazing young man taking over at the back end and during the two weeks Will Smith wasn't' here. Malcolm was one of our defensive captains. He's a very vocal person. Leadership is earned by example before you listen to somebody's voice. It doesn't make any difference how old you are. People don't necessarily listen to older players that don't do things right. You have to set a good example before anybody's going to listen to you as far as verbal leadership. Malcolm deserves the opportunity for people to listen to him because of the example he sets. He's done a very good job with that."
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New Orleans Saints' Gregg Williams discusses defensive leaders - New Orleans Saints Football NFL News - NOLA.com

 

Malcolm Jenkins DB, New Orleans: Had six tackles in the win over Carolina.

 

Malcolm Jenkins, DB, New Orleans: Had six tackles and an assist in a 26-20 loss at Tampa Bay.