Prairie Ridge grad Jeff Jenkins enters NCAA transfer portal

Former Prairie Ridge offensive tackle Jeff Jenkins’ college football career is not finished.

Jenkins, who attended Iowa on a football scholarship, was not enrolled at the school this semester and announced in January that he would no longer play for the Hawkeyes. At the time, he hinted that he might walk away from the sport.

Jenkins texted the Northwest Herald on Saturday to say he has entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal, which will allow him to seek another school to play for, likely on scholarship.

Jenkins, a 6-foot-3, 266-pound sophomore, graduated from Prairie Ridge in 2018. He started for four years for the Wolves and was an integral part of their back-to-back Class 6A state championship teams in 2016 and 2017. He and quarterback Samson Evans, a three-time Northwest Herald Player of the Year, both went to Iowa on scholarships.

Jenkins saw action in two games last season as the Hawkeyes’ backup center. He stayed in Iowa City this semester, but worked for a construction company where a friend’s father was foreman.

When he took the time away from football, Jenkins said he needed to do some soul searching and find out if his heart and head were still in the game. He found his answers and now is looking for a place to continue his career.