What began as a routine recruiting operation for the Miami Hurricanes quickly spiraled into one of the most unusual and humorous mix-ups in college football history. The program, known for its proud tradition and sharp-eyed scouting, made an uncharacteristic blunder this week after mistakenly offering a scholarship to a 45-year-old man due to a mislabeled highlight reel that had gone viral.
The unexpected recruit, Marvin “Speedy” Jenkins, is a former high school athlete who now works as a janitor at a middle school in Fort Lauderdale and occasionally plays in local alumni flag football games. Jenkins became the accidental focus of Miami’s recruiting staff when his decades-old highlight tape was uploaded to YouTube under the name “MJenkins_CB2025,” which the staff believed belonged to a four-star defensive back prospect from the same region.
The tape, which featured grainy footage of Jenkins intercepting passes, juking out defenders, and sprinting downfield in what appeared to be a loosely organized alumni game from the late 1990s, left Miami’s staff thoroughly impressed. With upbeat 2000s rap music blaring in the background and a crowd wearing throwback jerseys and oversized denim, no one in the recruiting office seemed to question the tape’s authenticity—or its timestamp.
“We were watching what we thought was a rising senior with amazing ball instincts, great closing speed, and incredible field vision,” said an anonymous assistant coach. “Looking back, the VHS static, crowd wearing FUBU, and halftime performance by a local ‘NSYNC cover band should’ve been red flags.”
In an effort to get ahead of other programs, Miami made an aggressive push, calling Jenkins and offering him a full
