A former team captain and key player is returning to the Florida A&M football team after a recent NCAA ruling allowed a pathway for him to return to action.
Linebacker Nay’Ron Jenkins will play for the Rattlers this season, after qualifying for the NCAA’s age-based “5-for-5” ruling, passed in June. It allows athletes who entered college during the 2022-2023 season, as Jenkins did, to return for one more year of eligibility.
First-year FAMU head coach Quinn Fordham Gray Sr. confirmed Jenkins is now an active player at Wednesday, Aug. 19’s Eddie Jackson 220 Quarterback Club luncheon.
“It’s true that Nay’Ron is back,” Gray told the audience.
Initially planning to serve as a defensive graduate assistant, Jenkins has traded in his coach’s cap for a football uniform and has been ramping up at preseason training camp for the Rattlers’ season opener against the Albany State Golden Rams on Aug. 29.
The NCAA’s “5-for-5” gives college athletes a continuous five-year window to play up to five seasons of a sport. The five-year clock starts when an athlete enrolls full-time in college or at the start of the academic year after their 19th birthday, whichever happens first. Once the clock starts, it continuously runs, and transferring, sitting out, even for injury, or taking time off does not pause the clock.
It replaces the old system of five years to play four seasons and ends the traditional redshirt year. That means if a freshman is a day one starter, they will still get to play four more seasons afterward.
Jenkins re-enters the FAMU defense with 145 career tackles, seven tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, five pass deflections, and an interception, forced fumble, and fumble recovery apiece. In 2025, the Alachua native was the Rattlers’ second leading tackler, with 62, during his senior year.
Jenkins will play under the newly hired FAMU defensive coordinator Ryan Lewis Sr. and rejoin his linebacker running mate Justice Cross and transfers headlined by Denzel Johnson from Alabama State.
FAMU will have a mock game on Saturday, Aug. 22, on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium, a week before hosting the Albany State Golden Rams to start the 2026 season.
Florida A&M football 2026 scheduleAll times are Eastern
- Saturday, Aug. 29: vs. Albany State, 7 p.m., SWAC TV
- Sunday, Sept. 6: vs. South Carolina State, Orange Blossom Classic at Miami Gardens' Hard Rock Stadium, 3 p.m., ESPNU
- Thursday, Sept. 10: at Miami, 8 p.m., ACC Network
- Saturday, Sept. 19: vs. Tennessee State, 7 p.m., HBCU GO
- Saturday, Sept. 26: vs. Alabama A&M (SWAC), 7 p.m., SWAC TV
- Saturday, Oct. 3: BYE
- Saturday, Oct. 10: at Alabama State (SWAC), 3 p.m., HBCU GO
- Saturday, Oct. 17: at Jackson State (SWAC), 3 p.m., ESPN Network
- Saturday, Oct. 24: vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (SWAC/Homecoming), 3 p.m., HBCU GO
- Saturday, Oct. 31: vs. Southern (SWAC), 3 p.m., HBCU GO
- Saturday, Nov. 7: at Alcorn State (SWAC), 3 p.m., SWAC TV
- Saturday, Nov. 14: vs. Mississippi Valley State (SWAC), 3 p.m., SWAC TV
- Saturday, Nov. 21: vs. Bethune-Cookman (SWAC/Florida Classic), 3:30 p.m., ESPN+
Gerald Thomas, III, is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat under the USA TODAY Network.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU football's Nay'Ron Jenkins back on team after NCAA 5-for-5 rule
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