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Miami Hurricanes Football 2016 Player Profile: Rayshawn Jenkins

In an effort to keep even the most hardcore Miami fan up to date on their favorite players, SOTU will be running a Player Profile series. In these posts, our writers will profile players from each position that they think should get more face time. They will recap their previous year, or in some cases, preview what may be to come. That way, when the season get's here, you hopefully will have a new found love for the team on the field.

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Rayshawn Jenkins

S - 6'2 208 RS Senior - St. Petersburg, Fl

2015 Key Stats:  52 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 3 INT's.

Enjoyed a strong 2015 campaign, after missing all of 2014 due to injury.

Very active during this year's Spring Game, recording team high 8 tackles.

Could fill an even bigger role in 2016 in Manny Diaz' new defense.

Has excellent range as a center fielder to make plays on the ball, but also instinctive and physical enough to support the run game and make tackles underneath.

Summary:  Jenkins should see plenty of defensive snaps this year (potentially at both safety spots) as a seasoned, experienced vet.  Might not thump quite as hard as fellow S Jamal Carter, but can definitely make a dent on opposing receivers and ball carrier.  Jenkins can also cover a ton of ground as a FS, something he might be counted on for quite a bit this coming season, given UM's lack of experience behind Corn Elder at CB. As a last line of defense, he'll also need to be a sure tackler on the second level in the 'Canes new attacking style defense. It will be interesting to see how much/if he can hold off emerging sophomore Jaquan Johnson for snaps. I think Jenkins, Johnson, and Carter all end up sharing the S duties. All three will be important in both producing and preventing big plays.  Jenkins should wrack up anywhere from 40-50 tackles this season and 3-4 INT's. Carter and Johnson may end up producing the more eye popping plays, but senior to be needs to be a steady presence for Miami's defense on the back end.