Jenkins hasn’t spoken to brother since ‘shocking death’ of friend
Janoris Jenkins is barely a month past what he called Sunday the “shocking” death of friend Roosevelt Rene, 25, in the basement of Jenkins’ Fair Lawn, N.J., house, and the arrest of Jenkins’ brother William, 34, on a charge of aggravated manslaughter in Rene’s death.
And yet remarkably Jenkins, who was in Florida when the body was found in New Jersey on June 26, reported on time to Giants training camp on Wednesday with a clear enough mind to compete well from the jump.
Sunday, he spoke for the first time since the news of Rene’s death rocked a quiet summer.
“I mean, it’s difficult (to focus on football), but at the end of the day you’ve got to be a pro,” Jenkins said matter-offactly. “Things are gonna happen in life. Some things you can’t control. And it’s just one of those situations.
“It’s shocking,” Jenkins admitted. “But I still gotta play football, and right now my main focus is to get better every day … My main focus has always been football. The things that hap- pened I can’t control ’cause I wasn’t there.”
Jenkins said after some hesitance that he hasn’t spoken to his brother.
“No comment,” he said. “I haven’t talked to him, to be honest, but I will to see where his head is at.”
Jenkins and Rene weren’t just friends; as the Daily News first reported, they were music collaborators.
This past March, the Giants corner and Rene both promoted the release of a single hip-hop track entitled “Hood Jumpin” with Jenkins rapping under the M.C. name “Rabbit” and Rene producing under his D.J. name, “Trypps Beatz.”
Jenkins said he intends to continue pursuing his music career but can’t think about that right now.
“Yeah, Imma do it,” Jenkins said. “But right now I’m just focused on football. That (album) will come out later once everything’s over with … (Have to) put it (all) aside. I understand I got to focus on my job. Being here is more important. Training hard is more important.”
Jenkins, who turns 30 in October, is critical to the Giants’ recipe for success. His lockdown play in 2016 was a major reason for the team’s secondranked defense and 11-5 overall record. He had lapses in effort last season and battled injuries, too. But he says he is “100 percent” healthy, and he likes the defense preached by new coordinator James Bettcher and is eager to rebound.
“It’s aggressive,” Jenkins said of the defense. “He lets you play a little bit. He’s not gonna have you bein’ a robot … just standing out there if it’s Cover-2 lining up and showing Cover-2 ... And all you gotta do is listen to the call and trust the call and you’ll be OK.
“I’m just coming back,” Jenkins added, “getting with my team, excited to be here.”