Please Sign Here: Jelani Jenkins

Football-crazed fans do their best - and their worst - to help land a top recruit.

Toni L. Sandys

Meet Jelani Jenkins, a top outside linebacker from Olney, Maryland.

This story appeared as a one-page feature in the February 9, 2009 issue of ESPN The Magazine. We decided to let the four fans involved have a little more space. Enjoy.

Jelani Jenkins isn't rushing the college selection process. "I'm taking my time," says Jenkins, a National Scholar-Athlete. "It's the biggest decision of my life."

Jenkins visited 22 schools before paring his list to four—Florida, Notre Dame, Penn State and USC. But he's still torn. To help him along, we hit ESPN.com's message boards for fans of his final four schools. Then we gave them the chance to hype their team and take swipes at the others. Will the kid from Good Counsel High listen?

"Fans can be crazy," says Jenkins, who'll declare in the first week of February (signing day is Feb. 4). "But at this point, I will take any advice I can get."

WHO IS JELANI JENKINS?
Scouts Inc. says of Jenkins, an outside linebacker: "Top-10 prospect. Tough, rangy, plays fast and physical every snap. Tremendous upside." Here's a detailed video clip on him.

LET'S MEET THE FOUR FANS

CHIP KOHNLE, 47, USC FAN
(A.K.A. CHIPK89)
"Come play with safety Taylor Mays. He was a lock to become USC's NCAA-leading 68th first-rounder but is staying for his senior year. Maybe he wants to win USC's record 12th national title or record eighth Heisman, or make the Trojans 7—1 in BCS bowls."

SEAN HOUSTON, 22, FLORIDA FAN
(A.K.A. SH71513)
"Gainesville is a short flight for your family. One travel advisory: Make plans now for future BCS title games. At Florida, you can play right away and enjoy good academics, an awesome climate, the nation's top conference…Do I need to keep going?"

JOSH ROGERS, 28, NOTRE DAME FAN
(A.K.A. TREEFIDDIE)
"Forget questions about Weis, and answer these instead: Do you want to be on national TV every week, get the best education available in major college football and play in legendary Notre Dame Stadium? Answer yes, then sign for ND."

JOE CUMMINGS, 32, PENN STATE FAN
(A.K.A. JOEREVS300)
"Find State College on the map; Linebacker U is just three and a half hours north of you. Then open the phone book to Paterno. He's been at the same address for 40 years. Meyer? Weis? Carroll? They've been at their schools for 16 years—total."

THE FANS GO BACK AND FORTH

Getty Images

"Come play with Taylor Mays!"

CHIP FROM USC:
Florida's been good lately, but don't you want to play a decent out-of-conference game?

SEAN FROM FLORIDA:
So there's no argument about the best conference, I guess? Non-con, UF beat Hawaii, Miami and Florida State—all bowl teams. Meanwhile, Charlie Weis said he'd give ND a 'strategic advantage.' Uh, we're still waiting.

JOSH FROM NOTRE DAME:
If you seriously doubt how much of a genius Weis is, please consult his hands and count the Super Bowl rings. Now Jelani, Joe Paterno is a legend, but he's 82 years old.

JOE FROM PENN STATE:
Joe's too old? Never heard that one before. Florida's last first-round LB? Huey Richardson…in 1991.

SEAN FROM FLORIDA:
Jelani, meet Brandon Spikes, a first-round draft pick whenever he decides to leave Gainesville. Now, who wants to go 2,650 miles to USC to rub tanning lotion on Pete Carroll and take a backseat to Will Ferrell?

Getty Images

"Paterno's old? Yea, I haven't heard that one before."

CHIP FROM USC:
It's called fun. They have that at USC, you know? Notre Dame's storied tradition in bowl games is a fairy tale: they're 1—9 in their last 10!

JOSH FROM NOTRE DAME:
True, ND has struggled recently. But Jelani, won't you want to be a focal point in the chapter where the Irish rebirth began? Big issue: Urban Meyer says his dream job is ND!

SEAN FROM FLORIDA:
In December '04, Meyer could have picked Notre Dame. He didn't. He chose to win lots and lots of BCS titles at Florida instead.

CHIP FROM USC:
Going to PSU? The Rose Bowl score was USC 31, PSU 7. Oh, wait—that was halftime.

JOE FROM PENN STATE:
They've played five times in the past 15 years, and Penn State has won three of those games. Do me a favor, Jelani: look at USC's schedule and guess the Pac-10 game Carroll blows in horrific fashion.

CHIP FROM USC:
That's ignorant hating: Carroll is 38—5 in conference the past five years.

"Do me a favor, Jelani. Look at USC's schedule and guess the Pac-10 game Carroll blows in horrific fashion."

JOE FROM PENN STATE:
Life in South Bend means a new coach in a year and four blowouts by USC!

JOSH FROM NOTRE DAME:
Please. Charlie Weis will be here 10 more years. Jelani, how fun could it be making PSU the Big Ten's only bowl winner?

JOE FROM PENN STATE:
In the 15 years it took ND to win one bowl game, PSU has won eight.

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