In their quest to find quality depth at the wide receiver position, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed WR Jaray Jenkins on Monday. The former LSU Tiger went undrafted in 2023 and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars but was cut before the start of the regular season. So who is Jenkins on and off the field?
Relationship With His Mother
Jenkins’ mother, Dee Dee Hunter, tried to discourage Jenkins from ever setting foot on a football field. Yet when he proved to be a high school star, she was there to support him. When he broke his leg in the first game of his senior year, she was right there.
“She was sitting on the side of me with her head on my shoulder just crying and said, ‘My poor baby,’ and all this and that,” Jenkins said in a 2023 interview with KOTA. “And I was just like, ‘Stop crying, it’s gonna be all right.’ But then, we got the hospital and it was the other way around. I was crying, and now she’s telling me, ‘Don’t worry about it, it’s gonna be all right.'”
Jenkins still is impacted by his mother even though she passed away after battling cancer during his freshman year at LSU.
“Every time I score, every time I catch a ball, they be like you know she saw that,” Jenkins said. “You know she was there, she in the stands, she watching. I knew it, even when they didn’t tell me, I knew it.”
College Graduate Because Of His Mother
When Jenkins’ mother revealed her cancer diagnosis to Jenkins, she had a heart-to-heart with him. Part of that was about ensuring he got his college degree.
“She sat me down and just told me, she was like, ‘I probably ain’t going to be here too much longer,'” Jenkins said in an interview with WAFB. “‘I want you to promise me you’re gonna graduate from college.’… In that moment, I knew I had to keep that promise for her. I knew that’s what my mother wanted.”
Jenkins fulfilled that promise in August 2022. He graduated from LSU with a degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Stellar High School Career
Despite Jenkins’ high school career being cut short by the broken leg in the first game of his senior season, he was a force to be reckoned with at Jena High School in Louisiana. He had 111 catches, 1,960 yards, and 27 receiving touchdowns. He also had 448 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns.
However, Jenkins wasn’t just a standout wide receiver at Jena. During high school, he was named All-district at three different positions on the defensive side of the ball: Outside linebacker, safety, and cornerback.
Despite breaking his leg, Jenkins’ scholarship offer from LSU still stood and he became a Tiger.
Jenkins is not the first NFL player from Jena High School. Former Dallas Cowboys DE Jason Hatcher graduated from Jena before playing for Grambling State and spending 10 years in the NFL. Fun fact: Hatcher’s wife, Natasha, is Jenkins’ older sister, according to the Lafayette Daily Advertiser.
Played With Superstars At LSU
When Jenkins joined the Tigers in 2018, he did not play at all that season in part due to recovering from his broken leg. He did get to spend time with and learn from a couple of superstar wide receivers. Justin Jefferson got his first real playing time with the Tigers in 2018 before breaking out during the 2019 season. Ja’Marr Chase also appeared in 10 games before forming an incredible partnership with Jefferson.
Once both Chase and Jefferson were gone, Jenkins stepped in and helped contribute. He finished his college career with 89 catches for 1,370 yards and 14 touchdowns. He finished second on the team in 2021 with six touchdowns and led the team in 2022 with six as well.
“Being around them, seeing how they work out in practice and how it translated into the game, I would take that same mindset,” Jenkins said in an interview with LSUsports.net. “Work hard in practice, and the game will speak for itself. Seeing the praise and recognition they got, it only made me go harder.”
That was during the time that Malik Nabers was developing before breaking out in 2023 and becoming a first-round draft pick. Not a bad group of receivers to be around.
Snubbed By Arkansas, Gets Revenge
In 2017, Jenkins and his father, John, went to Arkansas on a recruiting trip. There, they watched LSU beat the Razorbacks, 33-10. After the game ended, John asked his son if he wanted to stick around to talk with the coaching staff.
“No, they didn’t ask me to hang around like they did the other guy,” Jenkins said, according to the Daily Advertiser story linked above. “Let’s get out of here, and I’m not going to be coming back.”
Jenkins obviously went on to sign with the Razorbacks’ opponent, LSU. However, Jenkins would be back, and in 2020, he very much enjoyed that return trip to Arkansas.
Jenkins caught the game-winning touchdown with just under four minutes to play as LSU defeated Arkansas, 27-24. Not only was it the game-winner, but it was Jenkins’ first touchdown as a member of the Tigers.
