BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Trente Jenkins has been such a fixture of Bradford High School football that it’ll be strange to imagine the Tornadoes without him.
Bradford’s loss, though, will be Florida Memorial University’s gain.
The interior defensive lineman signed a letter of intent to play for the Miami Gardens college during a May 21 ceremony in the BHS media center.
“I’m just glad I get the opportunity to show my skills at the next level,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins said he likes the fact that Florida Memorial is a historically Black university. In fact, it’s the only one in South Florida. He also likes the coaches, who have been good at staying in touch with him every day.
He didn’t want to go to school outside of Florida, so he found one in state that he feels comfortable at.
“I like the atmosphere there,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins was a varsity starter for all four of his years at BHS, prompting Head Coach Jamie Rodgers to say he may have experienced more wins than any other varsity starter in school history. The Tornadoes went 42-11 during Jenkins’ four years.
One thing for certain is Jenkins played in a lot of big games, such as the Class 2S state championship his junior year. Rodgers believes Jenkins won’t be overwhelmed by play at the collegiate level.
“He’s played in huge games,” Rodgers said. “The lights won’t be too bright for him.”
Jenkins recorded 58 tackles last season, which was the second most on the team, and finished his four-year career with a total of 205. He led the Tornadoes in tackles for loss in 2024 with 10.
Rodgers said because of Jenkins, other players were freed up to make plays on defense.
“He demanded a double team pretty much all the time because of his strength,” Rodgers said.
Combined with that strength was a quickness that Rodgers said had Jenkins moving like a “bigger skill player.”
Jenkins’ height is listed at 6 feet, which some coaches would view as a negative, Rodgers said. However, the head Tornado said that’s a plus.
“The lowest man usually wins on the line of scrimmage,” Rodgers said.
As he prepares to transition to playing at the next level, Jenkins said he needs to “hit the weight room hard and stay in shape,” as well as continue the type of work ethic that amounted to success at BHS.
“It’s about how hard you work when nobody’s watching,” Jenkins said.
Rodgers said Jenkins already possesses the strength necessary to play at the next level.
“What he’ll need to work on is his agility and moving side to side,” Rodgers said.
Jenkins said he’ll be nervous when he steps onto the field for the first time as a Florida Memorial Lion, but his BHS coach believes he’ll be ready to compete and force Florida Memorial’s opponents to double team him just as Bradford opponents had to do.
“He’ll be making plays,” Rodgers said.
