NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players: No. 61 - Todd Jenkins, Freeport

The 61st player on our list was great at maximizing his opportunities.

Freeport's Todd Jenkins came up during a golden age of Freeport football. His junior year, the Pretzels tied East for their first football conference title since 1963 behind the dominant running of Troy King, who would go on to star at Wisconsin.

Freeport would tie for the title again in 1979 with Jenkins sharing the ball on offense with future Southern Methodist University star Tom Linebarger and Brian Brooks.

With all that talent, Jenkins didn't put up great numbers. He finished fourth in the Big Nine in rushing his senior year with 550 yards. He only played 13 games over the two seasons because of a broken leg his junior year and a thigh injury his senior year. Freeport was 12-1 with him on the field because he was a threat whenever he got the ball. He had four TD runs, one touchdown reception, three kickoff return TDs and even one touchdown pass.

The big-play ability intrigued lots of schools, but Jenkins picked Northwestern over Missouri, Wisconsin and Illinois because the Wildcats were in desperate need of players. They had won just three of their previous 43 games the seasons before Jenkins got there.

Ironically, when he did get to Evanston, he spent most of his time battling Auburn's Bobby Anderson (No. 63 on this list), Northwestern's starting safety, who was involved in the 1978 tackle that broke Jenkins' leg at Freeport.

The Wildcats kept losing with Jenkins and Anderson, going 0-11 both Todd's freshman and sophomore seasons. Finally, in 1982, in Dennis Green's second season in charge, Jenkins and Northwestern got better. Jenkins caught 49 catches for 701 yards, including a 15-reception day against Purdue, which was a Big Ten record. The Wildcats broke its 34-game losing streak and ended up going 3-8.

Jenkins was chosen as a team captain, but he had an injury-filled final season, adding just 11 more catches. Still, he ended up with 76 receptions for 1,186 yards at Northwestern. In the history of the NIC-10, only Harlem's Shawn Wax had more receptions and yards at the highest level of college football.

Jenkins got a couple NFL chances. The San Diego Chargers signed him in 1984 and made it to the last cut. The Philadelphia Eagles signed him in 1985, but he hurt his shoulder and didn't make the team.

Today, Jenkins is in digital media sales for Tribune Digital Media in Chicago.

No. 61 - Todd Jenkins, Freeport
Year	Level	School	Accomplishments	Points
1978	High School	Freeport	Playoff Team	1
			Conference Champion	1
1979	High School	Freeport	First Team All-Conference	2
			Winning Team	1
			Conference Champion	1
1980	College	Northwestern	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
1981	College	Northwestern	Player on Power 5 Team	2
1982	College	Northwestern	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
1983	College	Northwestern	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
1984	Pro Football	San Diego Chargers	Free Agent Contract	1
1985	Pro Football	Philadelphia Eagles	Free Agent Contract	1
Total				24

NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players

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