Jenkins to Florida

As expected, stud linebacker Jelani Jenkins has chosen Florida over Penn State, according to Mike Farrell of rivals.com. The top linebacker left on the board, Jenkins is set to announce his decision at a news conference set for 10:45 a.m. Farrell's sources said that Jenkins already signed and sent his letter of intent down to Gainesville.

Most observers had the 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior headed to the Gators. The Washington Post predicted as much in this morning's paper. As did The Inquirer (wink-wink).

It would have been a nice coup for Penn State, but when Florida coach Urban Meyer swooped into Olney, Md. for some face time with Jenkins it seemed the clincher. Lions coach Joe Paterno, by the way, did not visit the 16-year-old. Jenkins was in State College the weekend before and did spend time at Paterno's house on McKee St.

There are still two potential Penn State recruits that have yet to decide. Wilmington, Del. wide receiver Justin Brown announces at 1 p.m. Massachusetts defensive back Jim Noel is expected to choose sometime today.

UPDATE: Jenkins just announced on ESPNU that it's Florida. Penn State, Notre Dame, Stanford and Southern Cal were the other finalists. He cited all the usual reasons for picking a school -- a good fit, comfort with the coaching staff, academics (huh?) -- but also added that Florida's weather played a factor. If that was the case, State College never stood a chance.