When Janoris Jenkins told the Sentinel a month ago that he would choose between North Alabama and Valdosta State, he said he was looking for “just a school that will let me rebuild my image off the field, keep me out of trouble.”
Shortly thereafter, he chose North Alabama and by all accounts is working to do that.
Jenkins left Florida in April after his second marijuana-related arrest this year. He decided to forgo the NFL supplemental draft to finish his senior year somewhere else.
After making several phone calls, North Alabama coach Terry Bowden felt comfortable having Jenkins join the team. Bowden said he spoke to Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley, coach Will Muschamp and former secondary coach Chuck Heater.
“Try to get a feel for, gosh, is this a problem?” Bowden said last week. “I don’t want to say everybody condoned what happened. No one said that. … (They) all thought, made a mistake, really deserves a second chance.”
Bowden said Jenkins has been on campus for a couple weeks and has been doing well in workouts.
“I think his talent speaks for himself,” he said. “Him and his family all wanted to show that wasn’t the type of person he was and he could do the right things and really follow rules and want to go back to school.”
