Popular recruit is a five-year varsity starter and unafraid to challenge older QBs at FIU

Keyone “Lights Out” Jenkins is a megawatt personality in his Opa-locka community.

“I go to the bus stop or the hair salon,” Jenkins said, “and people say, ‘You’re the quarterback who plays for Miami Central.’”

He was that guy.

Come spring practices in March, he will be the true freshman quarterback who is expected to get a legitimate shot at winning the FIU job.

Jenkins will be competing against Grayson James, who has made 10 college starts; Haden Carlson, who passed for 414 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions in his only start.; and Amari Jones, who redshirted as a 2022 true freshman.

All three of those QBs have a head start on Jenkins.

But Jenkins — who is listed by FIU at 5-10½ and 175 pounds — is no ordinary recruit.

Start with his nickname. He was just 8 years old when he gave himself that moniker while playing an NBA video game.

When he was about 10, he had his nickname carved into his haircut. He has also scribbled the name on his sneakers, and he’s working on buying a gold chain with the “Lights Out” brand.

Besides his adept marketing, Jenkins also has far more football experience than most guys his age. He was a five-year prep starter on varsity, leading Mater Academy in the eighth grade, Carol City as a freshman and Central the past three years.

He powered Central to three state titles in three years, and the Rockets finished 2022 with a 14-0 record and a No. 2 national ranking by MaxPreps. In his breakout senior season, Jenkins passed for 2,128 yards and 24 touchdowns, and he was intercepted just four times. He also ran for 278 yards and nine touchdowns.

“I’m electrifying,” Jenkins said when asked to describe his game. “I’m poised, calm and accurate. My timing is amazing, and I’m very mobile. I can get first downs with my legs if I need to.

“I feel like I check every box as a quarterback.”

That includes confidence, clearly.

But Jenkins isn’t the only person raving about Jenkins.

“Keyone is accurate, cerebral and a playmaker,” Central coach Jube Joseph said. “But above all, he’s a winner and a leader.

“If you want that wining culture in your locker room, he’s the guy to go get.”

Jenkins originally committed to FIU on July 30. But Jenkins told the Herald that Auburn was his “dream school”, dating back to the career of Tigers QB Cam Newton.

That explains why Jenkins — after visiting Auburn on Nov. 12 and drawing a scholarship offer — flipped to the Tigers.

However, after Auburn fired coach Bryan Harsin and replaced him with Liberty’s Hugh Freeze, Jenkins came back to FIU, which had never stopped recruiting him.

“They were loyal,” Jenkins said of FIU’s coaches. “They really wanted me. They never recruited another QB, even after I had decommitted.

“I felt the love from FIU. I was the guy they wanted.”

FIU coach Mike MacIntyre said he and/or his assistants were at Central just about every moment allowed by NCAA rules.

“One day, I was at Central in the morning and in the afternoon,” MacIntyre said. “Then I went to practice until 7:30 p.m. Then we went to his house afterward.

“I was there all day. We didn’t take no for an answer, and that’s because Keyone is a phenomenal young man with great charisma.

“He realized he wanted to stay in Miami and do something special at FIU.”

For those who think Jenkins will be too young this fall to take the quarterback job from older players such as James or Carlson, history provides some context.

When Jenkins was an eighth-grader at Mater Academy, he beat out a pair of older QBs – both of them juniors. Jenkins took over in the third drive of the opening game, and he never left the lineup.

Then again, Jenkins is used to being the center of attention. The youngest of his father’s 12 children, Jenkins grew up playing football. His father, Curtis Jenkins, taught him the game.

Pretty quickly, the people of Opa-locka recognized Keyone Jenkins as a rising star.

“I love my community,” Jenkins said of the support he has received, “and I will not be outworked.”

Jenkins, who had a 3.2 grade-point average at Central, plans on studying business management at FIU.

He went to three FIU games this past season, and he came away impressed.

“We have a great group of guys,” Jenkins said of FIU. “We have a lot of Miami natives, guys who want to win.

“I see a program I can turn around. I feel I can pack out those stands, fill the stadium.”

Nobody has been able to pack the FIU stands, but Jenkins is an optimist.

“Buckle up,” he said when asked what message he has for FIU fans. “Come join the club, and let’s make this change.”