Huge offseason weight gain for Michigan DT Kris Jenkins
Michigan Wolverines football senior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins has been gaining weight all offseason, and he’s reached a new milestone. He’s up to 309 pounds, he revealed with a picture of the scale after he weighed in.
“[Not gonna lie], I got beefed,” Jenkins posted.
At the beginning of fall camp in 2022, the last time the Michigan program updated the heights and weights of returning players, Jenkins, who stands 6-foot-3, weighed 285 pounds. That was even a big change from when he arrived at U-M in 2020, weighing 265 pounds.
Jenkins revealed earlier this offseason that he wanted to get up between 305 and 310 pounds. He’s achieved his goal this May, before the summer training cycle has even begun.
Despite receiving bits of feedback that he could’ve been a top-100 NFL Draft pick this spring, Jenkins decided to return to Michigan for another season. He led the Wolverines’ defensive line with 54 tackles, adding 3.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. He paced the nation’s defensive tackles with 40 run-play stops, according to Pro Football Focus.
Earlier this offseason, Jenkins discussed how he’s embraced the challenge of becoming bigger and stronger.
“I finally hit 300, and it was interesting, this offseason I really wanted to make this commitment to [nutritionist] Abigail [O’Connor] and [strength and conditioning coach Ben] Herb[ert],” Jenkins explained on the In The Trenches podcast in March. “I wanted to get to a true D-tackle size — not 285, but get to 305, 310. And the fact that working with Abigail, really getting a great eating schedule down, really taking the weight room, taking that extra step in the weight room. Coming in — and it may not look like it — but I’m more dense than I look, so coming in, getting on the scale, 300 pounds, I’m like, ‘Woo, I’m a fat boy now.’
“It’s difficult, but it’s a commitment that we’ve gotta make as student athletes, to really take everything seriously. That’s something that Abigail and Coach Herb preach all the time — it’s the little things that matter. Stuff like really taking your eating seriously, taking your sleep seriously, stuff that you wouldn’t really think matters too much, but it’s actually going to take you that next step forward, make you an even better player, better person.”
Jenkins helped lead a Michigan run defense that ranked seventh nationally last season. The Wolverines kick off the 2023 campaign Sept. 2 against East Carolina, the first of four consecutive home tilts to begin the year.
