SEMINOLE SIREN: Transfer Pass-Rusher Jayson Jenkins Racing Through Rehab—but ‘Return Clock Still Ticking’ as Florida State’s Trenches Tighten

Florida State’s defensive-line room has been riding a roller-coaster ever since 6-foot-6, 280-pound transfer Jayson Jenkins arrived from Tennessee in January. The towering edge-setter was penciled in as an immediate starter, only to suffer an undisclosed lower-leg injury that wiped out his entire spring camp. One month after head coach Mike Norvell openly confirmed that Jenkins is “progressing really well” and even “ahead of schedule,” the Seminoles still can’t circle a date on the calendar for his full-contact return—and the uncertainty is beginning to color every conversation inside the Moore Athletic Center.

When spring practice opened in March, the coaching staff already knew several projected starters—safeties Shyheim Brown and Conrad Hussey, plus Jenkins—would be out or extremely limited. On Day 1, reporters spotted Jenkins in a protective walking boot, confirming the worst: no position drills, no contact periods, no chance to chase down quarterbacks until at least summer.

Norvell’s latest public update, delivered at the ACC spring meetings on May 18, 2025, reflected cautious optimism. “To say he’s ahead of schedule—I feel very good about where he is,” the head coach said, before immediately tapping the brakes: “We’ll see…throughout summer and fall camp, and then we’ll see where he’s at.”

Translation: the training staff likes the daily benchmarks—a stronger push-off in the pool, cleaner change-of-direction work during sand-pit sessions—but no one inside Doak Campbell Stadium will project a definitive clearance date until Jenkins strings together multiple full-speed practices without a setback.

Florida State’s rush unit desperately needs a disruptor with Power-Five snaps in his resume. Jenkins logged 20 games over three seasons at Tennessee, notching nine tackles, five tackles for loss and two sacks while rotating behind Byron Young and James Pearce Jr.

Off the field, the Bordentown, N.J., native owns multiple SEC Academic Honor Roll nods and brings two remaining seasons of eligibility—exactly the leadership-plus-longevity blend Norvell emphasized in this cycle’s transfer portal haul.

With Jenkins rehabbing, veteran Patrick Payton has taken most of the first-team reps at strong-side end, while redshirt freshman Byron Turner Jr. and JUCO arrival James Williams are tag-teaming the weak-side spot. Both backups flashed in the spring game but remain works in progress against the run. Defensive tackles coach Odell Haggins tested jumbo 3-3-5 looks featuring Colorado transfer Bishop Thomas II as a stand-up edge, but insiders admit those packages were designed as emergency contingencies—and the staff would much rather unleash a healthy Jenkins in a conventional four-man front.

 That means FSU could open August camp minus three expected starters on the defensive side of the ball. Every rep Jenkins doesn’t take is another rep a younger lineman must absorb—valuable experience, yes, but also extra wear-and-tear before a schedule that begins August 30 against Alabama and features Clemson and Miami in the first six weeks.

Sources inside FSU’s strength program say Jenkins spends mornings in anti-gravity treadmill sessions that allow him to restore full gait mechanics at 60-percent body weight. Afternoons feature station rotations—band-resisted push-pull drills to rebuild ankle stability, sled marches to reload quad explosiveness, and VR film sessions that keep his mental processing sharp. Head athletic trainer Josh Chatman grades each day on a green-yellow-red scale; Jenkins has reportedly banked “seven greens in the last eight check-ins,” a sign that swelling and soreness have plateaued.

On message boards and X (formerly Twitter), Tribe25 loyalists oscillate between panic and perspective. One camp argues that missing a 6-foot-6 pass-rusher for even a couple of early non-conference tests could derail any playoff push. The other counters that Norvell’s portal class—ranked 34th nationally with four new defensive linemen—Finally provides enough depth to weather a short-term absence.

FSU limped to a 2-10 finish in 2024, its worst mark since the pandemic season, and owner Michael Alford doubled down on Norvell by extending his contract through 2032. The mandate is clear: show tangible defensive improvement now, or risk another winter exodus in the NIL-supercharged portal era. Jenkins was recruited as the tent-pole of that plan, and every week he remains in street clothes places more load on untested sophomores and graduate-transfer stopgaps.

Jayson Jenkins’ rehabilitation is trending in the right direction—he’s “ahead of schedule,” hitting every benchmark, and winning over the training staff with his film-room diligence. Yet until Florida State’s medical team stamps full clearance, Norvell must game-plan as if his marquee transfer will be unavailable when Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide descend on Tallahassee to christen the 2025 season. Seminole fans desperate for a turnaround can take solace in the progress reports, but the return clock is still ticking, and the margin for error after a 2-10 disaster year is vanishingly this.