The Kansas football team has added an offensive lineman with a familiar name.
Trezelle Jenkins Jr. announced on Thursday morning that he has committed to KU as a transfer from Wayne State, a Division II school in his hometown of Detroit. Jenkins is the son of the original Trezelle Jenkins, a former first-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs’ at offensive tackle in the 1995 NFL Draft who had a brief professional career with three teams.
The younger Jenkins, who is 6-foot-6 and 326 pounds, played in 10 games and started four as a true freshman for a winless Wayne State team in 2025. He spent most of his time at guard, including starting at right guard, but also had some brief experience at tackle.
Prior to enrolling early at Wayne State, one of just two freshmen in his class to do so, Jenkins played football and competed in the shot put in Belleville High School. He will now move up to the Division I level, where his father played for Michigan.
Bringing Jenkins into the fold is consistent with an approach KU has frequently taken over the last two offseasons of acquiring young linemen from lower levels of competition who have played early and often in their careers (and then having them redshirt, which might be the plan for Jenkins) — an example would be DeAndre Harper from Northwest Missouri State in the 2025 season.
Adding Jenkins at this particular point also helps the Jayhawks fill one of their open reserve spots in the offensive line room after they lost players such as Kene Anene, Greydon Grimes, Carter Lavrusky and Tyler Mercer.
WSU Athletics/Michael Dubicki
