DP Sports Player of the Week: Eddie Jenkins

It did not take Eddie Jenkins long to get back on track.

Following a difficult three-interception performance in a loss to Army last week, Penn sprint football’s senior quarterback bounced back in a big way against Cornell on Friday, turning in a record breaking performance that was good enough to earn him DP Sports Player of the Week.

After being named to the All-Collegiate Sprint Football League first team in 2017, Jenkins’ 2018 hit a bit of a snag after he was knocked out for one game due to an injury he suffered midway through Penn’s contest against Cornell. He more than made up for lost time in his appearance this year against the Big Red, recording seven total touchdowns en route to a dominant 61-7 Penn victory.

Jenkins got the scoring started early, rushing for a five-yard touchdown just two minutes into the game. Only four minutes later, he found senior wide receiver Billy Murphy for his first touchdown through the air. By the end of the first half, Jenkins had five touchdowns, three of which were on the ground and two of which were in the air, to send the Quakers into the half up 47-0.

The senior signal-caller would later put the finishing touches on his historic performance by throwing for two more touchdowns in the second half. In the win, Jenkins set career highs in passing yards with 221, passing touchdowns with four, and rushing touchdowns with three. He also threw the longest touchdown of his career, a 45-yard pass to junior wide receiver Barry Klein. Jenkins was also incredibly efficient, throwing just one incompletion and averaging over 18 yards per attempt.

While this was certainly a huge win for Penn sprint football, it is not even its biggest win with Jenkins at the helm. In 2017, Jenkins dominated in his first career start, leading the Red and Blue to a 69-6 victory over Caldwell.

Jenkins will look to keep the momentum going as the Quakers prepare to play Post next weekend.