Doc 5: Top five marijuana mistakes -- No. 3 Janoris Jenkins
This offseason we will count down various topics from Monday through Friday, bringing you the top five of the important and definitely some not so important issues in college football. It's the Doc Five, every week until we will thankfully have actual games to discuss.
Christians across the world celebrated Easter on Sunday, but some were celebrating another holiday.
April 20, aka “4/20,” has become a de-facto holiday to celebrate the use of marijuana. With 4/20 in mind, we decided to use that as the basis for this week’s Doc 5 – the top five marijuana mistakes.
There are no shortage of college football players running into legal trouble throughout the offseason, many of them for marijuana charges. Any semi-regular reader of Dr. Saturday knows that. Over the years there have been plenty of top players whose marijuana use ultimately led to dismissals that impacted their teams.
It's time for number three.
TOP FIVE MARIJUANA MISTAKES
No. 3 - JANORIS JENKINS
After an All-SEC performance in 2010 as a junior, CB Janoris Jenkins had a choice. He could leave Florida and be a potential first-round pick int he 2011 NFL draft or stay for his senior season and try to become a two-time All-SEC first-teamer.
He took the latter option, but he ended up missing his senior season at Florida anyway. Why? Two marijuana arrests in three months.
The first happened in January 2011 when he was found with less than 20 grams of pot in a nightclub in Gainesville, Fla. On that charge, Jenkins took a plea deal.
He was still a member of Florida's football team in April 2011 when he was arrested again. This time, police said he had a marijuana cigar in the car he was in. It was another misdemeanor charge.
After meeting with coach Will Muschamp, Jenkins was soon off the team. In a statement, Muschamp said that both parties felt it was in Jenkins' best interest that he leave the team.
When Jenkins was dismissed, Muschamp hadn't coached a game with the Gators yet. Recently hired from Texas, where he served as the defensive coordinator, Muschamp was trying to replicate former coach Urban Meyer's success on the field while making sure things happened differently off of it.
Brought up numerous times throughout the drama surrounding former Florida and New England Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez's arrest for murder, Florida players were arrested over 31 times in Meyer's six seasons at Florida. Any perceptions of lawlessness from football players were going to be stopped.
And Jenkins was the first high-profile casualty. He was far from being a dispensible player. He had started the first game of the season as a true freshman.
Florida struggled in 2011, going 7-6. Jenkins found a home at North Alabama, where he played his senior season.
Ultimately, his draft status didn't fall too much. He was picked 39th overall by the St. Louis Rams in the 2012 draft. However, his college tenure will always have a footnote.
- - - - - - -
is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg
