ATLANTA--As the Georgia State football team continues preseason drills, Kalan Jenkins is adjusting to a position change. But that's nothing new for the senior from Midlothian, Texas.
Now working at noseguard, Jenkins is playing his fourth different position since arriving at Georgia State 18 months ago.
Jenkins enrolled at GSU in January 2010 from Navarro College in Texas, and began his Panther career as a tight end. After spring practice, he moved from tight end to defensive end, where he started every game of the inaugural season. He was credited with 30 tackles on the season, including 15 solo hits and 15 assists, along with one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Following the season, Jenkins moved from defensive end to defensive tackle, essentially switching positions with Christo Bilukidi, who started at defensive tackle last fall. Jenkins worked at defensive tackle throughout the spring, but by the time preseason camp started, he had moved one more time. He is now the Panthers starting noseguard, flanked by Bilukidi and Connecticut transfer A.J. Portee.
Jenkins is adjusting to his new home on the interior.
"The further inside you go, the more hectic it gets," said Jenkins. "I have a lot of respect for those guys inside. I just want to do what's best for the team, wherever they need me."
At 6-5 and now 270 pounds, Jenkins is working hard to compensate for his relative lack of size.
"I've put on a little weight, but I'm not the typical noseguard," he said. "I just try to fight hard. Coach [John] Thompson says that's why he wants me there. He likes the fight that I have and he says I don't get driven back on double teams.
"I try to stay a lot lower that the bigger offensive linemen, and I try to use quickness to beat them off the ball."
Off the field, Jenkins is an outstanding student who has twice earned President's List honors. Last spring, he earned the Pickett Riggs Award as Georgia State's junior male student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA.
"Kalan Jenkins is just a marvelous human being," said head coach Bill Curry. "He's a 3.9 student, and he has that rare combination of humility and toughness. Every time I see his parents, I thank them for sending Kalan to us."
Jenkins is scheduled to graduate following the fall semester with his degree in exercise science, and he plans to attend graduate school to study physical therapy.
Jenkins and the Panthers open the 2011 season in just three weeks as Georgia State hosts Clark Atlanta on Friday, Sept. 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the Georgia Dome.
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