Fleming Island graduate inspires youngsters at Jaguars camp
Jaguars Prep girls flag football camp in Jacksonville: Touchdown video
More than 300 youth players from Northeast Florida competed at the Jaguars Prep girls flag football camp, with highlights like this TD.
London Jenkins, a Team USA flag football player, spoke at a Jaguars Prep camp, inspiring young athletes.Jenkins, the 2024 Times-Union All-First Coast player of the year, aims for the 2028 Olympics.Northeast Florida is becoming a hub for women’s flag football, with local talent like Jenkins and multiple youth teams competing nationally.
Hundreds of young, smiling faces watched as London Jenkins spoke on a muggy Jacksonville morning, and she didn’t need long to recall the feeling of life on the other side of the microphone.
Today, a Team USA member back on home turf. Not so long ago, just one of the many faces in the crowd.
“Two years ago, I was in the same position you guys are in, sitting at a Jaguars camp and listening to a speaker,” she said. “Now, the sport has grown tremendously.”
A First Coast rising star in flag football, Jenkins is hoping to inspire the next generation of prospective athletes, speaking to more than 300 youth players assembled at the Jaguars Prep girls prospect camp on Friday, June 27, at Providence School’s Selman Field.
The Fleming Island graduate is now entering her second year of college and a full-fledged member of the United States women’s flag football squad in preparation for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Messages from Jenkins and from Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun led off a morning of dodging, flag-pulling and pass-catching fun for hundreds of young players at the annual flag football camp, held at Providence this year amid continuing renovations at EverBank Stadium.
“When you have fun in what you’re doing, I think that gets you enough motivation to get through whatever you’re doing,” Oluokun said. “And, number two, be coachable. Obviously you’re out here to get better, and if somebody has some advice for you, take that and try to implement it.”
The Times-Union’s All-First Coast player of the year in 2024, Jenkins is already recognized among the nation’s best. In three years, further history could be within her reach.
“I could never have imagined that I’d be playing on Team USA right now just from playing at Fleming Island,” she said.
London Jenkins: Flag football file
Not so long ago, Jenkins was a relative newcomer to the sport after years on the basketball court, averaging more than 20 points per game as a junior. But in just a few years, the energetic, 5-5 two-way athlete has become one of the faces of flag football in Florida and beyond.
A state finalist as a junior, she surpassed 1,800 total yards in her senior year at Fleming Island with more than 200 points. From there, she moved on to Florida Gateway College in Lake City, which stormed to a National Junior College Athletic Association championship.
But her biggest news so far came in the spring, when she made the final cut from 18 to 12 for the USA Flag Football women’s national team. She’s one of two Florida natives on the roster, with Deliah Autry-Jones of Tampa.
“When I made that 12 roster, I was like, ‘OK, I’ve finally made the team now,'” Jenkins said. “Let’s put in the work and let’s make the starting lineup.”
Playing for the national team isn’t just about bragging rights. For the first time ever, the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles will include flag football as a medal sport, which gives Jenkins hopes of bringing Olympic gold back to the First Coast.
“One of my biggest [target] accomplishments is to make it to the Olympics in 2028,” she said. “I’m just grinding, working hard and keeping my eye on the next play.”
Northeast Florida becoming flag football hotbed
Jenkins’ national team success is just the latest evidence of Jacksonville’s rising status as a center for women’s flag football.
About an hour’s drive to the west, Florida Gateway College now owns three NJCAA championships in flag football. The program continues to add noted talent on the flag football field, including the 2025 All-First Coast player of the year, Nichelle Brown of Bradford.
Meanwhile, Northeast Florida is also scheduled to send 11 youth teams to the USA Flag Football Championships in Canton, Ohio, planned for July 17-20.
There, area teams in the boys under-14 and girls high school divisions could have an opportunity in the national spotlight on ESPN — and perhaps a chance to someday stake their own claim among the nation’s best.
“My advice is just to work hard,” Jenkins said. “You never know where the sport can take you.”