Washington State Football: Arizona’s Daniel Jenkins Transferring to WSU

November 17, 2012; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Arizona Wildcats running back Daniel Jenkins (3) scores a touchdown during the second half against the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Wildcats defeated the Utes 34-24. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Running back Daniel Jenkins no longer plays for the University of Arizona, instead he’s taking his talents to Washington State.

"@RichCirminiello: Just spoke with speedy Arizona RB Daniel Jenkins… transferring to Washington St, eligible in ’13 and bucking to be feature back #Wazzu"

He will be eligible for the 2013 season because he will be a graduate student (being that he graduated early from Zona), so he’ll come in and try and take over the starting spot in the Cougar backfield immediately.

The Wildcats have KaDeem Carey in their backfield, which doesn’t bode well for running backs wanting playing time in the Desert, especially those that only have a year left to get it. Jenkins wore #3 and played a backup role to Carey in 2011 and 2012, last season rushing 67 times for 293 yards and 2 touchdowns as a junior. He also caught 4 passes for 30 yards.

What it means for WSU: They get a talented and experienced back in their backfield, very much helping the transition from the graduated Carl Winston. Jenkins goes 5’9″ 196 lbs, so he’s a solid guy in blitz pickup and short yardage situations, but he has always been known as an explosive, breakaway guy as well. The Cougs will probably call on him to be more versatile than he was at Zona and he has helped out with kickoff return duties over his college career.

Some Cougar fans have been worried about the class of running backs this season, which include Olito Thompson, Gerard Wicks and Jamal Morrow. Mostly there hasn’t been a lot of news lately from these players as to how high they are on WSU as of late and a couple of them (Wicks and Thompson) have been taking other visits.

Grand scheme, Jenkins shouldn’t make a difference in their commitments since he only has one year available to play. However they are all hoping to have a shot at the starting RB role in 2013 and this severely impacts their opportunities, purely based on the experience that Jenkins brings in a spread offense.

Jenkins hails from Rancho Verde High School, in Moreno Valley, CA.

Hit us up with your comments on what Jenkins brings to the Cougs in 2013!