Serious allegations leveled against Alabama State football coach

Brian Jenkins turned the Bethune-Cookman University football program into a winner, but off the field former players and coaches say the program was rife with rules violations and teetering on the edge of dysfunction because of the animosity between them and Jenkins, who is the new head coach at Alabama State University.

In the past month, the Montgomery Advertiser was contacted by, or made contact with, more than a dozen former players and four former coaches from the school in Daytona Beach, Fla.

With one exception, they independently provided nearly identical details of rules violations and what they felt was Jenkins' mistreatment of players.

Allegations against Jenkins and his program include:

— Improper benefits provided to players;

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— Improper housing arrangements;

— Continued and extensive violations of the NCAA weekly practice time limits;

— Failure to pay three assistant coaches that resulted in a federal lawsuit;

— And, bullying of staff and players with retaliation against those who spoke up.

Prior to Jenkins' departure in December from Bethune-Cookman, officials there had conducted an investigation into a number of allegations, and assistant athletic director Tony O'Neal, who wouldn't answer questions about the investigation, said, "Anything that needed to be reported (to the conference and NCAA) was reported."

Alabama State interim athletic director Melvin Hines said he was aware of the investigation and the incidents that prompted it, and he said he knew of the allegations reported to the NCAA.

Hines also said that he made Alabama State trustees and school president Gwendolyn Boyd aware of the issues prior to Jenkins being hired on Dec. 16 and approved by the board on Feb. 5.

"I talked with Coach Jenkins about those issues, and he was very up front with me about everything," Hines said. "My view on that is that it's all personnel matters from his previous workplace and this is a fresh start. (The trustees and I) have discussed those issues, and I made them aware of potentially what could be out there."

However, Boyd, board chairman Locy Baker and other trustees said they had no discussions with Hines about the problems. In an emailed response to several questions asking if Hines had alerted her to specific allegations levied against Jenkins, Boyd's only reply was: "No."

Baker also denied having a conversation with Hines but said he would wait and see what came of the potential problems.

"If it's true — and we don't know if it is or not right now — we'd have to act," Baker said. "But if there are NCAA issues out there, we'll have to wait and see what comes of them and make a decision."

Alabama State trustee Angela McKenzie was informed of at least some of the allegations against Jenkins, according to a former Bethune-Cookman assistant coach who spoke on condition of anonymity. The former assistant said he contacted McKenzie and one other trustee and provided several details of Jenkins' alleged misdeeds.

Following the Feb. 5 board meeting, at which Jenkins' contract was approved by trustees, McKenzie declined to comment on her conversation with the assistant. When asked if she felt comfortable approving Jenkins' contract in light of the assistant coach's allegations, McKenzie said, "I didn't vote on his contract. I abstained from all (personnel) votes."

Jenkins compiled a 46-14 overall record and won Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors three times in five seasons at Bethune-Cookman. The contract Alabama State trustees approved will pay Jenkins a first-year salary ($175,000) that's $90,000 less than what he was earning at Bethune-Cookman ($265,000).

Bethune-Cookman officials did not respond to additional questions about Jenkins or its investigation of his program. O'Neal also wouldn't say if he felt the school's investigation played a role in Jenkins' departure, saying only: "We appreciate the work Coach Jenkins did here."

Numerous attempts to reach Jenkins on his cellphone and through the school's sports information department were unsuccessful.

Allegations

One of the incidents that apparently sparked the investigation at Bethune-Cookman involved Jenkins allegedly threatening two players — linebacker Rahdeese Alcutt and defensive end Brandin Hudson — with a steak knife at a pregame meal.

According to a letter Alcutt provided at the request of Bethune-Cookman officials as part of the investigation, a teammate accidentally spilled a drink and Alcutt began laughing. Because Jenkins doesn't allow talking at the pre-game meals, the commotion irked the head coach, Alcutt said.

"At this time, Brian Jenkins walked over to me and picked up a knife and pointed it at me and (Hudson) saying, 'Do I have to cut your (expletive) throats to get you to be quiet?" Alcutt wrote in the letter. Jenkins then stared at the two players for several seconds, he said.

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 didn't feel as though it was worth it to be in that environment," 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 ruthless and illegal, according to both coaches and players.

According to three coaches, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of being "blackballed" from the coaching profession, Jenkins routinely violated limits on both the total hours practiced per week and on the number of consecutive 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 offensive lineman Blake Pritchard, who played in 2011 and 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 weren't 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 I've ever been a part of."

But in fall camp in 2013, two weeks prior to Bethune-Cookman's 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 assistant coaches said. According to Pritchard, Alcutt and seven other players, the entire Bethune-Cookman team refused to leave the locker room for the next day's practice.

"We just had enough," former receiver Justin Henderson said. "People just don't understand how bad it was. I know it's football and everybody's supposed to be tough and all that, but man, this was a damn three-a-day we just had. That's just crazy."

Following the refusal to practice, the players said Jenkins locked the weight room and locker room and wouldn't allow anyone in for the next two days.

Gaining eligibility

That was the same amount of time Virgin was on the team before dressing for his first game for Bethune-Cookman.

Virgin, who transferred from South Florida in the fall of 2012, said he joined the Bethune-Cookman program just two days before it was scheduled to meet ASU in the 2012 MEAC-SWAC Challenge in Orlando.

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 team's third game, at FBS opponent Miami (Fla,), Bethune-Cookman officials were informed by "someone at Miami" that Virgin wasn't officially cleared to play because his transcript had not been released by South Florida.

That was because Virgin had approximately $250 worth of charges, including some parking tickets, on his student account and South Florida wouldn't 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 Tampa (where South Florida University is located) to get my transcript," Virgin said. "The rest of the team got on the bus. I got in this private car and went to Tampa. When we got it, we drove to Miami and I played in the 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 secret. Three of the assistant coaches who spoke to the Advertiser independently confirmed the trip and provided specific details.

According to NCAA rules, simply driving Virgin to South Florida would constitute an extra 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 issues, as well, most of them dealing with unusual housing situations that consistently left players scrambling to find a place to live, and on at least three occasions resulted in various players being left homeless for extended periods.

While many of the players interviewed blamed Jenkins for the housing issues, the assistant coaches who had knowledge of the problems split the blame between the Bethune-Cookman administration and Jenkins, whom they said could have played a larger role in addressing the problems.

Justin Henderson, who transferred to Bethune-Cookman 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 receiving Pell Grant money that should have gone to pay for any additional living expenses.

Henderson said he and several other players were booted from their apartments after the winter/spring semester of 2013 because the university only paid rent through May.

With the on-campus dorms already full, and with no options for off-campus housing, Henderson said the players were essentially 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. "That's 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 experience for the future. With the variety of housing issues, and what Henderson deemed a "deep dislike" for Jenkins, he decided to transfer from Bethune-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 papers," Henderson said.

According to NCAA rules, despite scholarships being only one-year contracts at most universities, 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 won't accept a player until he has been given the release.

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 declare.

So, he returned to Bethune-Cookman and asked to be accepted back on the team. Jenkins allowed him back on, but without a scholarship.

With a $2,800-per-semester Pell Grant going to pay for 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 parking lot with everything I owned in it. They called it 'living off the land.' When you didn't have a place to live, you were 'living off the land out there,' they said."

Henderson wasn't alone, according to the assistant coaches. 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 violation of NCAA rules, since some coaches' apartments were provided 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 professionally — only former safety Nick Addison offered a defense for Jenkins and the criticisms he receives from other players.

"Coach Jenkins was hard and tough — he was without a doubt the hardest coach I've ever played for," Addison said. "But he helped me a lot, gave me advice and talked me through things. I know other players have problems with him. He's not a guy who you want to cross, and don't get on his bad side. But if you do the things you're supposed to do — I'll just put it that — I never had an issue."

Several of the players disagreed and used harsh language to describe Jenkins. There were additional problems between Jenkins and some of his coaches.

Ryan Kobbe, a former assistant, and John Schmitz, a massage therapist/trainer, have filed a joint federal lawsuit against Bethune-Cookman alleging they weren't paid for their work under Jenkins. According to court documents, both men are seeking more than $15,000, although an exact dollar figure isn't cited. Neither Kobbe nor Schmitz would comment about the lawsuit.

Kobbe, who is white, has also filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against Jenkins, alleging racial discrimination and physical threats.

While Jenkins did not respond to several requests related to this story, in a recent interview with the Advertiser, he described 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-player power struggle.

Those who have taken issue with Jenkins say that isn't 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. It's the whole team not coming out of the locker room to practice for a guy. That's not normal and it was all because of the way he treated players."

Josh Moon writes for The Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser