MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2015
MICKEY WELSH / ADVERTISER FILE
Brian Jenkins is shown on the scoreboard at ASU Stadium as he is introduced as Alabama State Universitys new head football coach on Dec. 17. Jenkins coached the last five seasons at Bethune-
Cookman University, which, prior to his departure, conducted an investigation into a number of allegations regarding NCAA rules violations and player mistreatment.
Coach
Continued 12A
Alcutt said he did not feel
physically threatened and that
Jenkins later apologized to the
players, but Alcutt said he did
feel disrespected so much so
that he quit the team a few
weeks later and decided not to
return for his senior season.
I had my degree at that
point, and I didnt feel as though
it was worth it to be in that envi-
ronment, said Alcutt, who
graduated with honors with a
degree in sociology. It was a
bad environment.
That poor environment was
partly created by a practice
schedule that was often ruth-
less and illegal, according to
both coaches and players.
According to three coaches,
who spoke on condition of ano-
nymity out of fear of being
blackballed from the coach-
ing profession, Jenkins routine-
ly violated limits on both the to-
tal hours practiced per week
and on the number of consecu-
tive days with contact.
NCAA rules dictate that
teams cannot practice more
than 20 hours per week during
the season, can practice no
more than four hours per day
and players must be given at
least one day off per week.
We were going 26 to 28
hours, easy, every week, said
former Bethune-Cookman of-
fensive lineman Blake Pritch-
ard, who played in 2011and 2012.
We got the rule book out once
and read it, and we were like
laughing about it, because it
was so obvious. Dude, we
werent close to those limits.
Several players, including
former tight end Isaac Virgin
and Pritchard, said two-a-day
practices in the fall would
sometimes last nearly eight
hours.
In an attempt to hide the
number of practice hours, the
players said Jenkins would
have them wear tennis shoes to
make it appear to be a walk-
through workout instead of a
full practice or they would go
into the basketball gym.
We had a full-pads practice
on the basketball court once,
Pritchard said. Craziest thing
Ive ever been a part of.
But in fall camp in 2013, two
weeks prior to Bethune-Cook-
mans first game, things finally
came to a head, the players and
coaches said.
After Jenkins surprised the
team with a 1 a.m. practice its
third practice in 18 hours
there was a mutiny, the assis-
tant coaches said. According to
Pritchard, Alcutt and seven oth-
er players, the entire Bethune-
Cookman team refused to leave
the locker room for the next
days practice.
We just had enough, for-
mer receiver Justin Henderson
said. People just dont under-
stand how bad it was. I know its
football and everybodys sup-
posed to be tough and all that,
but man, this was a damn three-
a-day we just had. Thats just
crazy.
Following the refusal to
practice, the players said Jen-
kins locked the weight room and
locker room and wouldnt allow
anyone in for the next two days.
Gaining eligibility
That was the same amount of
13A
time Virgin was on the team be-
fore dressing for his first game
for Bethune-Cookman.
Virgin, who transferred
from South Florida in the fall of
2012, said he joined the Be-
thune-Cookman program just
two days before it was sched-
uled to meet ASU in the 2012
MEAC-SWAC Challenge in Or-
lando, Florida.
A week later, university
game reports indicate Virgin
participated in a game at South
Carolina State, and he said he
likely did so while ineligible.
Virgin said that just prior to
the teams third game, at FBS
opponent Miami (Florida), Be-
thune-Cookman officials were
informed by someone at Mi-
ami that Virgin wasnt official-
ly cleared to play because his
transcript had not been re-
leased by South Florida.
That was because Virgin had
approximately $250 worth of
charges, including some park-
ing tickets, on his student ac-
count and South Florida
wouldnt release the transcript
until the account had been
cleared.
Coach Jenkins gave me the
money, I got in a car with a grad
assistant and we drove to Tam-
pa (where South Florida Univer-
sity is located) to get my tran-
script, Virgin said. The rest of
the team got on
the bus. I got in
this private car
and went to Tam-
pa. When we got
it, we drove to
Miami and I
Justin played in the
Henderson game.
Virgin caught
one pass for 10 yards in the 38-10
Miami win.
The side trip for Virgin to
South Florida was not a team se-
cret. Three of the assistant
coaches who spoke to the Adver-
tiser independently confirmed
the trip and provided specific
details.
According to NCAA rules,
simply driving Virgin to South
Florida would constitute an ex-
tra benefit provided to a player.
Providing the money to clear
his student account could be
deemed a major violation.
Players left homeless
There were other rules is-
sues, as well, most of them deal-
ing with unusual housing situa-
tions that consistently left play-
ers scrambling to find a place to
live, and on at least three occa-
sions resulted in various play-
ers being left homeless for ex-
tended periods.
While many of the players in-
terviewed blamed Jenkins for
the housing issues, the assistant
coaches who had knowledge of
the problems split the blame be-
tween the Bethune-Cookman
administration and Jenkins,
whom they said could have
played a larger role in address-
ing the problems.
Justin Henderson, who
transferred to Bethune-Cook-
man in 2013 from the University
of Memphis, was one of several
players who found themselves
without a place to live, despite
being on scholarship and re-
ceiving Pell Grant money that
should have gone to pay for any
additional living expenses.
Henderson said he and sev-
eral other players were booted
from their apartments after the
winter/spring semester of 2013
because the university only
Brian Jenkins poses with ASU Interim Athletic Director Melvin Hines during a Dec. 17 news conference to introduce
Jenkins as the new Hornets head football coach. Hines said he made ASU trustees and ASU President Gwendolyn
Boyd aware of Bethune-Cookmans investigation before Jenkins was hired and approved by the board.
paid rent through May.
With the on-campus dorms
already full, and with no options
for off-campus housing, Hen-
derson said the players were es-
sentially told to do the best they
could.
They suggested that we
could stay in these four or five
houses where other players
were living, he said. Thats
what most of us did. There was
like 12 dudes in these places
made for five, sleeping on the
couches and chairs and in the
living-room floor.
For the next two months,
Henderson and other players
said they slept on floors at those
houses or on couches at friends
places. Henderson even spent
nights in his truck.
The nights in the truck would
turn out to be valuable experi-
ence for the future. With the va-
riety of housing issues, and
what Henderson deemed a
deep dislike for Jenkins, he
decided to transfer from Be-
thune-Cookman after the fall
semester.
I had a couple of places that
wanted me, but Jenkins he
agreed to give me the release,
but he never would sign the pa-
pers, Henderson said.
According to NCAA rules,
despite scholarships being only
one-year contracts at most uni-
versities, including Bethune-
Cookman, in order for players
to be eligible at a new school,
they must receive a release
from the previous institution.
With scholarships limited, most
universities wont accept a play-
er until he has been given the re-
lease.
Henderson claims Jenkins
waited so long to give him his
paperwork that other offers
were pulled. Henderson then
tried to declare for the NFL
draft as an underclassman, but
despite an appeal, he was told he
had missed the deadline to de-
clare.
So, he returned to Bethune-
Cookman and asked to be ac-
cepted back on the team. Jen-
kins allowed him back on, but
without a scholarship.
With a $2,800-per-semester
Pell Grant going to pay for
The entire team quit
on the guy what
does that say? Do you
know how bad it has
to be before that hap-
pens? This is not one
or two troublemakers
who have a problem
with discipline.
JUSTIN HENDERSON,
Former Bethune-Cookman football
player
classes and books, Henderson
a starting tight end for most
of the season lived in his
truck for the majority of the
2014 season.
Of course the coaches knew
this, Henderson said. They
could see my truck in the park-
ing lot with everything I owned
in it. They called it living off the
land. When you didnt have a
place to live, you were living
off the land out there, they
said.
Henderson wasnt alone, ac-
cording to the assistant coach-
es. Every coach who spoke to
the Advertiser said they knew of
players who spent all or parts of
semesters bunking with friends
or teammates.
In some cases, the coaches
said Jenkins instructed them to
give players a place to stay.
That could be deemed a viola-
tion of NCAA rules, since some
coaches apartments were pro-
vided by Bethune-Cookman.
Providing a non-scholarship
player with room and board
could violate NCAA limits on
scholarships and benefits.
Lawsuits, mutiny
Among the players who
spoke with the Advertiser about
their time playing for Jenkins
a list that included five who
are currently playing profes-
sionally only former safety
Nick Addison offered a defense
for Jenkins and the criticisms
he receives from other players.
MICKEY WELSH / ADVERTISER FILE
Coach Jenkins was hard and
tough he was without a doubt
the hardest coach Ive ever
played for, Addison said. But
he helped me a lot, gave me ad-
vice and talked me through
things. I know other players
have problems with him. Hes
not a guy who you want to cross,
and dont get on his bad side. But
if you do the things youre sup-
posed to do Ill just put it that
I never had an issue.
Several of the players dis-
agreed and used harsh language
to describe Jenkins. There were
additional problems between
Jenkins and some of his coach-
es.
Ryan Kobbe, a former assis-
tant, and John Schmitz, a mas-
sage therapist/trainer, have
filed a joint federal lawsuit
against Bethune-Cookman al-
leging they werent paid for
their work under Jenkins. Ac-
cording to court documents,
both men are seeking more than
$15,000, although an exact dol-
lar figure isnt cited. Neither
Kobbe nor Schmitz would com-
ment about the lawsuit.
Kobbe, who is white, has also
filed an Equal Employment Op-
portunity Commission com-
plaint against Jenkins, alleging
racial discrimination and phys-
ical threats.
While Jenkins did not re-
spond to several requests relat-
ed to this story, in a recent inter-
view with the Advertiser, he de-
scribed himself as demanding,
not demeaning. He admitted
that he could be considered a
hard coach to play for, but he
said a lot of his reputation for
being difficult was nothing
more than standard coach-play-
er power struggle.
Those who took issue with
Jenkins say that isnt the case.
The entire team quit on the
guy what does that say?
Henderson said. Do you know
how bad it has to be before that
happens? This is not one or two
troublemakers who have a
problem with discipline, man.
Its the whole team not coming
out of the locker room to prac-
tice for a guy. Thats not normal
and it was all because of the way
he treated players.