Jennings prepared to play at next level

KIRKLAND – Kelly Jennings might look undersized to be an NFL cornerback, but he’s certainly not under-prepared.

The Seattle Seahawks’ first-round draft pick spent much of his college career matching up against future pro receivers like Andre Johnson (the third overall pick of the 2003 draft) and Sinorice Moss (second round of this year’s draft). And that was just at practice.

The University of Miami prepared Jennings for what he’ll see at the professional level.

“Just facing those guys helped develop me into the guy that I was,” said Jennings, a 5-foot-11 cornerback who faced Miami’s first-team offense for a portion of practice every day. “Going against them every day, day in and day out in practice, helped me become the guy that I am.

“… Practice was always harder than the games because of the guys we faced.”

If Seahawks fans have any concerns about having a rookie cornerback in the starting lineup, maybe they should look at Jennings’ competition and realize that he’s not just any rookie cornerback.

“All those Miami guys face good competition every day before they even get to the games,” Seahawks team president Tim Ruskell said. “… What we liked about Kelly was the consistency that he had, and I think that came from the confidence that he had – no matter who he was going against. That’s because he had seen that caliber of player all week long.”

Not that the Hurricanes represented his only stiff competition.

Jennings has held his own against top-caliber talent like Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson, LSU’s Skyler Green, Florida State’s Craphonso Thorpe and Florida’s Chad Jackson – among others. No one from that group scored a touchdown against him, nor did any of them get 100 yards of receiving in a game.

But the most difficult matchup Jennings faced at Miami was probably Pittsburgh All-American Larry Fitzgerald.

Jennings first lined up across from him as a redshirt freshman at Miami in 2002. That was one of 12 games Jennings played with a cast to protect a surgically-repaired thumb. Fitzgerald, also a freshman at the time, burned the inexperienced cornerback to the tune of seven receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown.

“He got the better of me in that game,” Jennings said. “After that game was over, I remember getting back in the locker room and not talking to anybody. I was feeling bad about the game. After that, I was like: I’ve got to get myself together and make sure that will never happen again.”

As a sophomore, Jennings and teammate Antrel Rolle combined to hold Fitzgerald to 26 yards off three receptions in the 2003 rematch.

“He didn’t do too much that game,” Jennings said.

Now that he’s with the Seahawks, Jennings can expect to see a lot more of Fitzgerald. The former Pitt star is a Pro Bowl-caliber receiver with the NFC West rival Arizona Cardinals.

“It’ll be good to see him again,” Jennings said.

The problem with the NFL is that Jennings will be facing players with Fitzgerald-like talent every Sunday. The division includes challenges like Arizona’s Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin and the St. Louis Rams’ Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce. Seattle’s 2006 schedule also features 10 receivers who were among their respective draft’s top 10 picks as well as Pro Bowlers Muhsin Muhammad (Chicago), Randy Moss (Oakland) and Javon Walker (Denver).

“Every week, he will go against a really great receiver,” Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. “In college, at times, I think at times he would step on the field and the Miami players were better than the players they were going against. As good as the Miami program is, that happens. The difference is that he’ll be challenged (in the NFL), and he’s up for the challenge.”

The undersized Jennings (5-foot-11, 183 pounds) knows he’s got a tall task ahead of him. But he also thinks he’ll be ready for the NFL.

“There are a lot of great receivers,” he said. “You measure your talent against the guys you go up against. And I think going against those guys, showing what I can do, I’ll be able to hold up.”