Moments after Michigan had clinched the school’s first football national championship since 1997, Wolverines’ defensive tackle and Good Counsel High School alum Kris Jenkins told the Big Ten Network that he “ugly cried…You see all the flashbacks of all the hard work you put in to get to this point. Now that we did it, it’s unbelievable. It’s surreal…That’s just a dream scenario.”
Michigan completed a perfect 15-0 season by beating Washington (14-1) 34-13 at NRG Stadium in Houston Monday night. The Wolverines rushed for a championship game record 303 yards and held the Huskies’ high powered offense — led by Heisman Trophy runner up Michael Penix, Jr. — largely in check.
Man, if only Kris Jenkins had some personality. 🙃@KrisJenkinsJr1 x @UMichFootball pic.twitter.com/J0gMaUViNT
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 9, 2024
GO BLUE FOREVER! 〽️
🗣️ @KrisJenkinsJr1 pic.twitter.com/xPvuAcWzVP
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) January 9, 2024
😘🏆@KrisJenkinsJr1 @UMichFootball #GoBlue #NationalChampionship
📸: Stacy Revere pic.twitter.com/NpuiF6nVAE
— Getty Images Sport (@GettySport) January 9, 2024
My Michigan Family!
Who’s got it better than us?
— Kris Jenkins (@KrisJenkinsJr1) January 9, 2024
At Good Counsel, Jenkins also ran track and was part of the choir.
Andy Stefanelli, Jenkins’ coach at Good Counsel, told MCM before the game, “It’s a thrill. I feel like a proud parent. It’s an honor to have had a hand in helping a kid get in the position to try and win a national championship.” Stefaneli said in high school, Jenkins was “incredibly strong” earning the nickname The Mutant from his strength coach. Stefanelli described Jenkins as “humble” and an “outstanding kid” whose “fun-loving spirit was contagious.”
Jenkins’ father Kris played at the University of Maryland and was a 4-time Pro Bowler during his 10-year career in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers and the New York Jets.
Jenkins was not the only Michigan player representing Montgomery County Monday night. Silver Spring native and St. John’s College High School Quinten Johnson plays safety for the Wolverines.
Photo courtesy Detroit Free Press
