Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539550
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 5 5 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State continued its run of suc- cess at Imani Christian in Pittsburgh when it picked up a commitment on Aug. 18 from Gabe Jenkins, a four-star athlete in the 2027 class. Jenkins became the third player from Imani Christian to commit to head coach James Franklin and his staff, joining current freshman defensive end Dayshaun Burnett and 2026 defen- sive back David Davis. Those prior an- nouncements were a factor in Jenkins' decision, he admitted. "I committed because I love Penn State," Jenkins said. "They've been one of my top schools since I was young, and now both of my teammates are commit- ted there. Who wouldn't want to keep playing with them?" Listed at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, Jen- kins mentioned in March that Penn State liked the idea of him potentially developing into a linebacker at the next level. However, he clarified that the staff now likes him more at the safety posi- tion. That's the same position Davis is expected to play when he enrolls. So great is Jenkins' versatility that he could even fit in on offense at the col- lege level if a need were to arise. "I'm getting recruited at safety, but they also told me that they love my run- ning back film," he said. Jenkins totaled more than 20 offers leading up to his commitment, with Penn State extending its offer in Octo- ber 2023, midway through his fresh- man season. Since then, he's produced in a variety of ways for head coach LaRoi Johnson and his staff. "I definitely could see safety, because he can do so much," Johnson said. "He could line up over top of the tight end, and he's very familiar with covering guys out of the slot. We do a lot with our safeties playing off-man coverage. He's very familiar with that." Johnson described Jenkins as "a play- maker all the way around." "He has two or three impact plays in every game, and we've seen that from him a lot going back to his freshman year," the coach said. "He's a big-play magnet. A lot of that comes from his confidence. It's just who he is. I think that's what makes him so special. He exudes that confidence whenever he walks into the room, and it shows on the field." Last season, Jenkins totaled 122 car- ries for 1,224 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also scored touchdowns on 3 of his 6 catches, finishing with 221 yards receiv- ing. Defensively, he primarily played safety and finished with 27 tackles, add- ing 5 interceptions and 2 pass breakups. Jenkins is playing a variety of roles for Imani Christian this fall, including quarterback. He and Davis helped lead the Saints to victories over Clairton (19- 12, Aug. 22) and Beaver Falls (58-0, Aug. 29) in the season's first two weeks. Last season, Imani was one of the fa- vorites to reach the PIAA Class AAA state championship following an un- defeated regular season. However, the Saints were upset by Avonworth, 14-6, in the second round of the WPIAL play- offs. That loss fueled Jenkins through- out the offseason. "He's a tremendous competitor and an outstanding football player," Johnson said. "He has a lot of the same charac- teristics that David has. They're both guys that love to compete. Gabe is al- ways giving it his all, no matter what is going on. I think we'll see him take that to another level this season." Listed as a linebacker by Rivals, Jen- kins has received a three-star grade and is the No. 20 player at his position and No. 13 prospect in Pennsylvania. He's more highly rated in the Rivals Industry Ranking, which factors in the evalua- tions of the other two major recruit- ing websites. He's a four-star player in the Industry Ranking and is the No. 229 overall prospect and No. 11 linebacker nationally, as well as the No. 8 player in his home state. ■ Versatile Defender Is Latest Imani Christian Athlete To Commit RYA N S N Y D E R | RYA N . S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M Gabe Jenkins is an interesting pros- pect. He's one we initially had ranked as a cornerback but now looks to be more of a safety or linebacker, just watching his sophomore film. He's physical and has good ball skills. I think he has natu- ral coverage ability. The biggest difficulty is figuring out where he stacks up positionally. In the offseason, he was around 6-1, 185. At his size, we want to see his speed im- prove and have that show up on the field. Given that he's a 2027 prospect, it's still very early in our evaluation pro- cess. We need to get more clarity on where he fits positionally. But there is a lot to like. He's physical and has good instincts. He's a strong tackler with good ball skills. Skill-wise, there's a good bit to like with Jenkins. — Charles Power, Rivals director of scouting and rankings P L A Y E R E V A L U A T I O N Jenkins totaled 5 interceptions during his sophomore season at Imani Christian Academy in Pittsburgh. PHOTO COURTESY ON3 COMMITMENT PROFILE GABE JENKINS