Embroiled in the most intriguing position battle in camp, Mike Jenkins remains confident after sitting out eight days with an ankle sprain. The second year USF product practiced for the first time after the injury on Sunday, saying that he felt good, and that, in his words, he missed "nothing" in his absence.
"I was still working," Jenkins said. "I was still getting the mental reps in the classroom and just coming out here and watching everybody on the field, I didn't miss nothing. Right now I'm just trying to get back out here, getting the feeling of it. It felt pretty good today. I didn't miss nothing. Like I said, I learned the most in the classroom."
In Jenkins and Terence Newman's absence, Dallas played their first preseason game against the Oakland Raiders, a 31-10, three and a half hour bore-gasm from which numerous questions emerged, namely concerning depth at the cornerback position. This tends to happen when Bruce "Am I still in the league?" Gradkowski hangs a 111.7 QB rating on you.
This makes Jenkins' (and Newman's) health a paramount concern for fans, who saw Mike Mickens and Courtney Brown get routinely burned last Thursday evening by the Raiders' generally unimpressive receiving corps.
There is little doubt surrounding Jenkins' ability on the part of coaches, fans, or even Jenkins himself.
Asked if the injury would slow the sophomore down in what has been a hitherto impressive camp, Jenkins said with a laugh, "Why would it do that, you know?
"Like I said, [the problem's] not my ability. Just getting back out here, it just feels good. You know, I have all the athletic ability in the world, so I feel like I just came back out here and picked it up. I was out here working with Brett [Maxie, asst. secondary coach], just going hard. I'm still in shape and I'm still going."
