By Lisa Zimmerman, Player Engagement Insider
Based on his family lineage alone, it seemed predestined that current New Orleans Saints practice squad player Alex Jenkins would pursue a career in some sort of sport. But, football wasn’t on anybody’s list – at least not American football. A native of Bath, England, Jenkins’ father is a professional martial arts instructor, and his grandfather Ricky Porter, was the No. 7-ranked boxer in the world in 1970. Jenkins’ uncle was also a boxer.
Jenkins, a defensive end, grew up playing soccer (of course called football in the UK) but never took to it strongly. He was “bored” by rugby. Nor did he take to martial arts. Then, in his late teens, he Googled American football and what he saw on YouTube put him on his current path.
“It was a mixture of exposure to it and the body type I had,” the 6’6”, 270-pound Jenkins said, with a clearly discernible British accent. “I wanted to stay in a team sport but I wanted to stay in a team sport that was more physical. I fell in love with [football] the first day I played it; it just felt right.”
Jenkins played on a couple of youth teams in England and was subsequently invited to a football camp in Virginia. Within short order, he was offered a scholarship to the University of Incarnate Word, an NCAA Division I school (Southland Conference) in San Antonio, Texas. From that point, his whole life was about new beginnings and learning from the ground up.
“It’s been a long journey,” he said. “When I moved to college, the terminology, everything was foreign. It was like a foreign language. I moved away from everyone and everything I knew, and loved and I just put everything into it. I just dedicated myself.
I’m a pretty quick learner and one of the things I did when I was preparing to move to the U.S. was I watched every piece of American football I could find on the Internet; Videos, movies, sit-coms, anything I could find that had American football.”
Jenkins made steady progress and in his senior season at Incarnate Word he posted 3.5 sacks.
Back in England, there was originally some push-back from family and friends when Jenkins announced his plans.
“My brother looked at me and said, ‘You’re crazy,’ and walked away,” Jenkins recalled with a laugh.
In 2017, Jenkins was tapped to become part of the inaugural year of the NFL’s International Pathway Program, which was developed to offer opportunities for foreign players to play in the league. In 2017, four players, including Jenkins, have been allocated to each of the four NFC south teams. They will remain on the practice squad for the duration of the season and while they will not be activated, they will also not be cut.
For Jenkins, it was an opportunity of a lifetime.
“Getting the nod, it was just recognition for everything I’ve done,” he said. “It was a lot to take in initially. I’ve been by myself for five years. I’ve lost two of my grandmas. But, it really felt like it was worth it.”
The biggest challenge has not necessarily been what you might expect.
“The weather is the biggest learning curve,” Jenkins laughed. “When I first got to UIW in 2013, I had to have someone follow me around with ice and water. The temperature there would have been record-breaking heat [back home].”
At the end of September, Jenkins will get the opportunity to head back home, as part of the Saints team who will face the Miami Dolphins in London’s Wembley Stadium on October 1st. Family and friends will be there, and teammates are already talking to Jenkins about being their tour guide.
Jenkins can’t wait.
“It’s going to be a huge homecoming.”
Lisa Zimmerman is a long-time NFL writer and reporter. She was the Jets correspondent for CBSSports.com, SportsNet New York’s TheJetsBlog.com and Sirius NFL Radio. She has also written for NFL.com.