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Alfred Jenkins is Hogansville sporting royalty. The Hogansville Greenwave graduate was inducted into the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame earlier this week for his contributions in high school.

During his time with the Greenwave, Jenkins played quarterback, running back, kick returner and defensive back. He was named to the AJC All-State first team as a senior in 1968 when he ran for 721 yards and scored 18 touchdowns, six of which came on kickoff returns. He intercepted seven passes on defense and helped the Greenwave go 9-1 and finish no. 7 in the final rankings. 

Jenkins also was named to the All-State team for basketball and track.

After Jenkins starred for the Greenwave, he went on to play at Morris Brown College in Atlanta and eventually the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL. 

“It was tough. I was recruited by a lot of schools, but our high school didn’t meet some of the requirements I needed to go to them,” Jenkins told the AJC in 2016. “Actually, my high school advisor told me about Morris Brown and I went to homecoming, and it was the first time I had been to a college campus and I had never been exposed to that. There were people in the stands having a good time, majorettes and everything.”

Jenkins was not selected in the 1974 NFL Draft, receiving a tryout with the Houston Oilers, but did not make the cut. He did earn a tryout with the Brimingham Americans of the World Football League, where he did make the cut. He scored 14 touchdowns and totaled 1,471 receiving yards during his lone season with the Americans, helping guide the team to a WFL Championship.

The Americans folded the following year but Jenkins was picked up by the Falcons where he enjoyed a nine-year career. The Falcons were desperate for wide receivers and Jenkins always envisioned himself playing in Atlanta in the NFL.

“I wanted to play in Atlanta and I was in there negotiating with (general manager) Pat Peppler and it wasn’t happening,” Jenkins told the AJC in 2016. “But when I got home, the phone rang and it was Marion Campbell, and he said they were going to give me what I wanted. I told that story at Marion’s funeral a few months ago. Marion thought he was your granddaddy and didn’t have a prejudiced bone in his body. He was also a hell of a coach. He was a great friend.”

 Jenkins was named an All-Pro in 1981 and a Pro Bowler in 1980 and 1981.

Jenkins best season came in 1981 when he led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,358 while tying for the lead in receiving touchdowns with 13. 

It did not take Jenkins long to make an impact in the NFL, catching 38 passes for 767 yards and six touchdowns in his rookie year. Jenkins would go on to start in every game for the Falcons in his first seven seasons with the exception of the 1978 season in which he broke his collarbone in the opening game of the season, missing the entirety of the rest of that season. He would return to start all 16 games in 1979, catching 50 passes for 858 yards. 

Jenkins finished his NFL career as the Falcons all-time leader in receiving yards with 6,267 and receiving touchdowns (40) which are currently good enough for fourth and fifth in team history, respectively. Jenkins retired from the NFL after the 1983 season having played in 110 games for the Atlanta Falcons. 

Jenkins was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.