MOBILE, Ala. — Two games into the 2026 season, South Alabama wide receiver Brendan Jenkins has already surpassed his reception, receiving yard and touchdown totals from all of last season.
He will try to keep the run going Saturday when the Jaguars (1-1) host Ohio (1-1) at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
A Career Night Against Tulane
Jenkins, a Samford transfer originally from the Atlanta area, put up career highs against Tulane last week: nine catches for 119 yards. Both figures were personal bests, and together they pushed his season line past what he produced across an entire previous campaign.
South Alabama head coach Major Applewhite described the receiver in the terms coaches reserve for players who do not need a second explanation.
“He’s very coachable,” Applewhite said. “He’s the type of student that you love because you teach him one time and he has it. He’ll make a great pro.”
Applewhite also called Jenkins a “very intelligent player” — a description that, in the context of a receiver, usually refers to route discipline, recognition of coverage and reliability in the spots where a quarterback expects a target to be.
A New Coach in the Receivers Room
Part of the development traces to a staff change. New passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach Tim Rattay has worked with Jenkins, and his assessment was blunt.
“It’s been impressive to watch,” Rattay said. “He acts like a 10-year vet in the NFL.”
Rattay would know what that looks like. The comparison is not a casual one from a position coach with no reference point.
The Family Résumé
Jenkins comes by the professional bearing honestly. His father, Michael Jenkins, played nine seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver, with the Atlanta Falcons and the Minnesota Vikings.
Michael Jenkins was a first-round pick in 2004 after a career at Ohio State that included a national championship and the school’s then-record for career receiving yards, 2,746. Among the highlights on that résumé is the “Holy Buckeye” catch against Purdue in 2002, a fourth-down reception that kept Ohio State’s national championship hopes alive.
What the younger Jenkins says he took from that is less about technique than about temperament.
“He’s taught me all the little details about it,” Jenkins said of his father. “He’s also taught me to just be patient out there and everything is going to come when it comes.”
There is a symmetry worth noting in this week’s opponent. Michael Jenkins built his college reputation in Columbus; his son plays Ohio on Saturday. The Bobcats and the Buckeyes are not the same program, but the coincidence is the kind that gets mentioned in a broadcast booth.
Wearing No. 5
Jenkins wore No. 5 for South Alabama against Tulane. The number carries weight in the program.
It honors the late Anthony Mostella, a South Alabama running back who died in a motorcycle accident in 2010. Each week the Jaguars rotate No. 5 to a different player — one judged to exemplify Mostella’s leadership and work ethic.
“It made me feel respected as a teammate here,” Jenkins said. “Just wanted to go out there and perform for No. 5 and honor the number.”
Programs handle memorial numbers in different ways. Some retire them permanently. South Alabama’s approach — rotating the number as a weekly recognition — keeps it in circulation and turns it into an active award rather than a static tribute. A player who receives it has been singled out by the staff and, implicitly, by teammates.
Week 3 Notes
- South Alabama leads the country in time of possession, averaging almost 39 minutes per game. In a 60-minute game, that means the Jaguars’ offense is on the field roughly two-thirds of the time — a figure that speaks to sustained drives and, just as importantly, to keeping an opposing offense on the sideline.
- The Jaguars are one of only 20 teams in the nation that have not turned the ball over. Through two games, South Alabama has not given the ball away once.
- Senior wide receiver Anthony Eager was available on offense against Tulane after being seen in a soft cast in practice during the week. He finished with two catches for 64 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown.
- Ohio arrives at 1-1 after a four-overtime win over Jacksonville State, 29-27. Jacksonville State had a chance to win in regulation but missed a 38-yard field goal as time expired.
What the Numbers Suggest About Saturday
A team that leads the nation in time of possession and has not turned the ball over is playing a particular style: long drives, ball security, and a defense that gets extended rest between series. That formula travels well against opponents who need the ball to get back into a game.
Ohio’s four-overtime survival against Jacksonville State suggests a team capable of staying in a close game, though it also means the Bobcats played the equivalent of considerably more than a full game the week before traveling to Mobile.
For Jenkins, the opportunity is a straightforward one: another home game, another chance to extend a start that has already exceeded a full previous season in two weeks.
Kickoff
South Alabama hosts Ohio at 6 p.m. Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium.