1/24/2010 2:08:37 PM
Indianapolis, Ind.----For Kenwin Cummings, the road to the NFL was much longer than the 595 miles separating his hometown of Maxton, N.C. and East Rutherford, N.J., home of the New York Jets. Cummings was not drafted, but his hard work and determination have earned him a spot on the surprise team of the NFL playoffs, a team that is only one win away from reaching Super Bowl XLIV.
The defensive player of the 2000-09 decade for Wingate, Cummings is a first-year linebacker for the Jets. Cummings signed with the Jets as undrafted free agent in the 2008 season. He made the 53-man squad that year, but was waived after the first week of the season. Cummings was later signed to the practice squad, where he stayed for the rest of the season.
This season, Cummings again made the 53-man roster and was signed to the practice squad. Although having a spot on the practice squad is a big enough honor, Cummings was about to receive the chance he had been wanting since graduating from Wingate.
After a season and a half of waiting, Cummings was signed to the Jets active roster on Nov. 16, 2009. Although he has yet to record a statistic in a game, Cummings is second on the Jets depth chart at the weak side linebacker position behind Bart Scott entering Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.
Cummings may be able to slip through the crowded streets of Manhattan unnoticed, but this was far from the case during his Wingate career. Cummings was a three-time All-South Atlantic Conference first team defensive player as a defensive lineman. In his senior season (2007), Cummings recorded 7.5 sacks, 71 tackles and 18 tackles for loss and was voted the defensive MVP by his teammates. Cummings was also named to Don Hansen’s Football Gazette NCAA Division II All-America team.
In addition to his impressive on-field statistics, Cummings was also an impressive worker. “After David Jones was drafted, Kenwin came in to my office and asked ‘What do I need to do to get there,’” Wingate head football coach Joe Reich recalls. “He was a quiet guy, but he led by example. In four seasons, he never missed a workout. He has one of the best motors that I’ve coached here.”
Cummings and his Jets teammates will face the Indianapolis Colts Sunday afternoon. Kick-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. on CBS.
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community service.
Wingate offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school awards the doctor of pharmacy and the doctor of education degrees.
Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.
Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 34 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 43 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.
(Wingate University sports information student assistant Steven Grandy contributed this article. Steven Grandy is a sophomore from Raleigh, N.C. He is a Sport Management major.)