Alfred Alonzo "A. J." Jenkins (born September 8, 1989[1]) is an American footballwide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, and former wide receiver for the University of Illinois. Jenkins had been a wide receiver at Illinois from 2008 to 2011. He was drafted in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, 30th overall, by the San Francisco 49ers.[2]
In his first three seasons (2008–2010), he totaled 1,849 all-purpose yards, including 1,156 receiving yards and 694 return yards.[1] On October 1, 2011, he had a career-best performance against Northwestern, with 12 catches for 268 yards and three touchdowns.[3] His performance against Northwestern broke the Illinois single-game receiving record, ranks fourth in Big Ten Conference history, and earned him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after the Northwestern game.[4] Through the first 11 games of his senior season, Jenkins had 1,166 receiving yards and seven touchdown receptions.[5]
As of November 20, 2011, Jenkins' 1,166 receiving yards during the 2011 season ranked second in the Big Ten Conference and 11th among NCAA Division I FBS players.[6] At the conclusion of the 2011 season, Jenkins was named First Team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media.
Although healthy all season, Jenkins was active for only three of the 49ers 16 regular season games.[8] In his rookie regular season he played in only 37 offensive snaps and was targeted with a pass just once, which he dropped.[9]
