E.J. Jenkins, Georgia Tech Football News: Draft Scout Player News

08/18/21 - TE E.J. Jenkins, rSr/2023, Georgia Tech

Wide receiver or tight end? That's a question South Carolina's E.J. Jenkins gets asked a lot these days. At 6-foot-7 and 243 pounds, Jenkins has a simple answer to the question. "I'm an athlete. I do both. I play offense so I do whatever they need me to do," Jenkins said last week at USC's on-campus media day. Jenkins played both receiver and tight end in the spring and summer since arriving to the Gamecock football program from St. Francis (Pennsylvania) in January along with teammate Jason Brown. Jenkins had 39 catches for 779 yards and a school-record 13 touchdowns in 2019 for St. Francis. The Red Flash didn't have a fall 2020 or spring 2021 season because of COVID-19. This spring, Jenkins said he rotated between receivers and tight ends and bounced back and forth between both positions' meeting rooms. During the media viewing portion at two of USC's fall practices, Jenkins was working strictly as a tight end with the second team. With offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield's desire for more two tight-end sets, Jenkins could see plenty of time at that spot.

Brown still views his childhood friend as more of a receiver but acknowledges that he could play both. Jenkins said he hasn't played a whole lot of tight end in live games except for a select handful of formations at St. Francis. "I look at him more as a receiver because I have been with him for 10 or 11 years," said Brown, who played with Jenkins at Chancellor High School in Virginia and at St. Francis.."He is built for tight end, but he can play receiver. He can play anywhere. He can put his hand in the dirt and can block. He can run short intermediate routes or take the top off the coverage if he has to. "He is a special athlete. They don't breed them like that everywhere, that is for sure." - Rock Hill Herald

rSr/2023