Hot Cougar Action: The curious case of Daniel Jenkins

College football recruiting is crazy. Case in point Daniel Jenkins. The one-time Arizona running back turned WSU transfer is headed back to Arizona. Jenkins' last five months have been strange enough that it's almost hard to follow along.

He met with the Arizona media on Monday, so we'll do our best to put everything together. Let's start with a simple timeline of what we know.

• December 20: Jenkins announced his intention to transfer. Stuck behind Ka'Deem Carey, Jenkins was in search of more playing time saying, "I have only one year to show the world what I've got." He didn't sound like he wanted to leave Arizona, however, "This was just a personal decision for my career. It was something I had to do. It was not something I wanted to do." Via Anthony Gimino of the Tuscon Citizen.
• January 17: Jenkins announced he is transferring to Washington State via Twitter. "UofA will always be my Alma Mater, I am excited for the new opportunity to play against the best of the best and achieve my goals at WSU."
• Sometime between Jan. 17 and May 17: Jenkins moved to Pullman for a month, but didn't sign scholarship papers, enroll in school or join the team. According to Gimino, Jenkins said he trained and worked out during the month.
• May 17: Rich Rodriguez announced Jenkins is returning to Arizona for his senior season.
• May 20: Jenkins said it was a combination of events which led to him returning to Arizona. He said he had some family situations and decided to make a personal decision to return to the Wildcats.
  

Off the top of my head I can't remember a similar situation. At least in recent history. It's not everyday a player transfers from one school, moves to the city of a conference foe with the intention of transferring to that school, only to have a change of heart and transfer back to the original school.

Jenkins was in search of playing time, but will instead be back behind Carey on Arizona's depth chart. Maybe the family situations took precedent over his football career, or maybe there is a lot to the story we still don't know.

Outside of a short-term blow to the depth, Jenkins' travels shouldn't impact WSU too much. Yes, they won't have him next season, but Jenkins had one year of eligibility remaining so the impact won't be felt long. If you're wondering why Jenkins didn't officially transfer to WSU last semester. He graduated in December, but didn't announce his intentions to transfer to WSU until Jan. 17 and WSU began classes for the spring semester on Jan. 7. Instead of enrolling a couple of weeks into the semester, Jenkins put off officially transferring until summer. It's also important to note that by not officially transferring, Jenkins didn't occupy a scholarship at WSU. If he had and then left, Jenkins would still count towards WSU's 2013 scholarship limit.

My biggest question -- outside of what the hell happened -- would be whether or not Jenkins was given a playbook. He didn't participate in spring football and technically was never on the team, but if Jenkins was in Pullman, you'd think he would have been around the team, even in an unofficial capacity.

If Jenkins was given a playbook, I think his reason for departing is obvious. Clearly Rich Rodgriguez employed Jenkins as a spy and this was all espionage. That may sound ridiculous, but this entire situation is ridiculous enough that you can't rule anything out. I'm joking ... sort of.

Football:

Arizona Wildcats running back Daniel Jenkins: ‘It was like I never left’ - AG's Wildcat Report
Running back Daniel Jenkins was asked to summarize his time at Washington State. "Short," he said.

100 numbers to know for the 2013 college football season - ESPN
57. (Sacks allowed by Washington State in 2012) The Washington State Cougars hope to protect the passer better in 2013. Last season, the Cougars allowed 57 sacks, the most of any FBS team and seven more than the second-worst team on the list (Colorado at 50).

Baseball:

Offense has been a problem for the Cougars lately, but one run was enough to win on Monday against Portland.

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Cougars Walk Out of Pasco with a Win - The Washington State University Official Athletic Site
PASCO, Wash. - A bases loaded to walk to Adam Nelubowich in the eighth inning lifted Washington State over Portland 1-0 in nonconference baseball at Gesa Stadium, Monday.

Portland Pilots hold Washington State Cougars to three hits but lose 1-0 | OregonLive.com
PASCO, Wash. -- Portland freshman Jackson Lockwood surrendered just three hits in seven innings, but the Washington State Cougars prevailed 1-0 against the Pilots in a non-conference baseball game played on Monday afternoon at Gesa Stadium.