Nashua North's Jenkins looking to get the football in his hands

[Editor’s Note: This story also appears in the 2017 Football Prospectus. Get your copy today by going here.]

For as long as he can remember, RJ Jenkins has always had a size and speed advantage on his opponents.

But it wasn't until recently that the Nashua High School North senior realized he could use both on the football field.

As a young running back, Jenkins always tried to outrun defenders and make a move to get away from them when he didn't have a step on them.

But at the urging of his uncle, Jay Jackson, Jenkins realized when his speed wasn't enough, he had the strength to run people over.

"My uncle would tell me I was stronger than those kids, I was faster, use both," Jenkins said. "Lower my shoulder and keep running and then put in a couple of moves here and there. I’d always have that one or two step advantage because of that. If you have that advantage, it’s easier to run through someone."

That lesson from his uncle helped Jenkins improve his game, he also had two people to look up to to help motivate him.

His older brother, Zak, was a standout on the North track teams who was named New Hampshire's Gatorade Runner of the Year in 2013 and is a sprinter at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. And Jenkins' cousin, Demitri Jackson, excelled at football and track while at Lawrence Academy, and is now a member of the football team at Brown University.

"Your brother is a Gatorade Player of the Year and your cousin is a three-sport athlete going to Brown," North coach Dante Laurendi said. "There’s probably that shadow, but he’s maintained his own personality. He’s drawing from their experience to help his experience. I think he wants to be great, not to step out of the shadows, but to prove it to himself."

Jenkins started playing football in fifth grade, first as a wide receiver before eventually making the move to running back.

"I didn’t really know what football was like," he said. "I saw Randy Moss and I wanted to do that. I started playing running back and I got the ball a lot, and it was just a lot more fun than I thought it would be."

Coming up through the freshmen and junior varsity teams at North, Jenkins was getting to touch the ball almost two dozen times a game. That changed when he made the varsity last season, and was suddenly behind a talented group of skill players on the depth chart.

"We had all those weapons on the field," Jenkins said. "I was worried about getting playing time, but I knew I’d get a fair amount because teams would start keying on those guys. Once you throw me in the game, I have a step on them. You throw me in the second, third quarter, I’ll use my speed and strength to beat other kids."

While he got his fair share of carries as a junior, helping the Titans to the Division I semifinals last year, Jenkins knows he's got even more of an opportunity this season. North lost Tylor Chase and Jordan Buckmire to graduation and Sky Boykin moved out of state, leaving a big opening in the backfield.

"We’re counting on him to be that guy," Laurendi said. "We lost a stable of very good athletes back there and now you’re back to most years, where you rely on a workhorse type of back. We need him to be that kind of back. We’re hopeful other guys develop, but it’s always nice to have an experienced senior when it’s crunch time."

Jenkins is confident that he can handle the extra work, and he believes that it won't take long for his teammates to get on the same page.

"I was built to move," he said. "I’ve been working hard all summer so that I can last four quarters. We have other kids who we can throw in the mix. We have a lot of talent. You don’t hear about it, but we have kids who are ready to step in."