NCAA eligibility<\/a> ruling gave Jenkins another year, the former Rattler returned to practice and began preparing to play football again. For a week, he worked to get his legs back under him and allowed himself to get excited about returning to the field.\u00a0<\/p>\nThen, after waking from a nap, Jenkins saw an ESPN notification about the NCAA ruling and a text message on his phone. The opportunity he had spent time preparing for was suddenly gone. Instead of leaving the program, Jenkins traded his helmet for the headset and began a new chapter as a graduate assistant at the place where he once played.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI love football. I love FAMU,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cBeing here for four years straight, I had a lot of loyalty to this place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jenkins\u2019 transition from player to coach has given him a new perspective on leadership and brought him closer to his ultimate goal of becoming a head coach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His experience as a player has become one of his greatest assets as a coach. Not long ago, Jenkins was one of the players in the locker room. Now, he is learning how to lead and teach the same teammates he once stood beside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Florida A&M defensive coordinator Ryan Lewis Sr. has noticed that transition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHis character and his integrity,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cYou can tell he was raised right and does the things the right way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For linebacker Darrick McGhee Jr., who played alongside Jenkins, the change has not altered the relationship they built as teammates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the adjustment has been a drastic change, because when I first got here, [Jenkins] was always the guy looking out for me and making sure I was in the best position to succeed,\u201d McGhee said. \u201cSo with him being a coach now, I think it\u2019s honestly 10 times better because he\u2019s able to see things from a coach\u2019s perspective instead of just a player\u2019s perspective.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
McGhee said Jenkins remains someone he can rely on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonally, it hasn\u2019t really been different because at the end of the day, he\u2019s like a big brother to me,\u201d McGhee said. \u201cI know I can always call him if I need anything, so that relationship hasn\u2019t changed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lewis believes Jenkins\u2019 experience as both a player and leader will help him grow as a coach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good leaders are good teachers,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cI think he is a good leader because he was a good follower at one point. A great follower.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the possibility of returning to the field emerged, Jenkins leaned on his family, coaches and teammates. Their support remained even after he learned he would not play.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI surround myself with great people.\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to support me whether I play football, whether I don\u2019t, whether I decide to sell insurance.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rather than viewing the change as the end of his football career, Jenkins sees it as another step in his journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything happens for a reason, so I am grateful to still be around the team,\u201d Jenkins said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jenkins remains focused on giving back to Florida A&M. Though his goal is to eventually lead a program as a head coach, the former four-year Rattler player has already embraced a new role serving his alma mater off the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nay\u2019ron Jenkins, former Florida A&M University football team defensive captain. (Photos provided with permissions from Taylor Adams) Nay\u2019Ron…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[232,234,233],"class_list":["post-416569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Nay'ron](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/original-702E4E70-0542-4CDC-B08B-E0D0A513D350-edited.jpeg\")
Nay\u2019ron Jenkins, former Florida A&M University football team defensive captain. (Photos provided with permissions from Taylor Adams)<\/p>\n