Devin Jenkins knows he’s fast.

He just didn’t expect to be this fast. The Kapolei junior was just trying to get in better shape and increase his ability on the football field when he came out for track and field two years ago.

Now he’s already the state’s fastest sprinter in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.74 seconds, adjusted from a hand-held time at roughly 10.4 to 10.5 seconds. He’s shaved two-tenths of a second off his best time last year. In the 200, he has already posted a time of 21.67, which would be a state-meet record if he can replicate it at the Island Movers/HHSAA Track and Field Championships on Maui in a few weeks.

"Really, I don’t have a set technique. Everything I do is raw talent. I’m blessed with it. I never got into sports until my freshman year," Jenkins said. "I didn’t expect to win any championships."

Jenkins will get lots of resistance at the state meet, where he’s expecting strong competition from Jeremy Tabuyo of Saint Louis and Michael Zane of Punahou. Regardless, he keeps a low profile and wears an easy smile. For folks on or off campus, it wouldn’t be any assumption that he could be the fastest human in the state. In fact, when Kapolei competed in the Punahou Relays on Saturday, Jenkins was there with the Hurricanes’ relay teams. After injuring both hamstrings last year, he’s taking it easy when possible this season, not that it mattered. High school athletes aren’t permitted to compete in the Hawaii’s Fastest Human event.

That race was won by Chris Green, a Georgia resident, in 11.06. Like Jenkins, Green’s high-school best was 10.7. Maybe in two years, after Jenkins graduates from Kapolei, the two can have a showdown. Until then, it’s not a big deal to Jenkins, who enjoys watching his sister, Christyn, take up the 100, 200, long jump and triple jump as a freshman. "I don’t think I honestly would’ve done track unless Devin did it," she said. "I didn’t know about track until he ran track. I didn’t know it was a sport."

Devin nods when he talks about her potential.

"She has better form than I did. She has all of that," he said.

He’s raw enough that there’s no real limit to what he could do in the 100, especially in a state where 10.9 and 11 flat are times more typical of the best sprinters. What separates Jenkins from most is attention to detail, even though he doesn’t feel like a special athlete.

"My form, the small mechanical things, stretching. I don’t have anything special I do. I just get out there and have fun. I could be doing an offseason workout during season," he said.

If it sounds like he’s got a blueprint in his mind and a quiet discipline in his heart, it’s because he is his father’s son in more ways than one. Brence Jenkins never ran track, and neither did Tamara, Devin’s mom. They moved from England, where the family was stationed, just two years ago.

"It’s been good, a bit of a culture shock. They were in the Department of Defense school all their lives. They’ve adjusted well," said Brence, a member of the Air Force.

Kapolei coach Tony Gamboa sees all the building blocks of a possible state-meet record setter.

"He’s very coachable and has the desire to be at the next level. He has all the natural talent. If he puts more of his heart in more of what he wants to become, he can compete at the college level," he said. "It’s the first time I really coached somebody with that kind of talent."

The hamstring issue has been big this year. Jenkins said he’s recovered, but both hammies are a bit tender.

"We’ve kind of nursed him," Gamboa said. "He did a lot on his own with his dad’s help, and our therapist has helped, too."

On a Sunday morning, Devin is in Waipahu with his family at the Family Empowerment Center, a small, but vibrant church on Leokane Street.

"I’m never too tired for God. He does a lot for everybody. He does a lot for you. What we have to do is never in comparison to God," he said.

Getting up on a Sunday morning is never a problem.

"I naturally wake up and 7:30 or 8 o’clock anyway. I like the message. Every week, no matter what it’s about, it has something about what I’m dealing with," he added. "You can say it, but how will you live a life as a Christian. How will actions speak louder than words? School, I have time for that, I do my homework. Sunday morning is for church no matter what. And Wednesday nights as well."

With a busy schedule, there’s not much time left over, not even for a girlfriend. Jenkins says she would have to be understanding.

"She’ll have to wait for after church. If you really know what you’re looking for, you’ll find it, and not rush things. You’ll take your time," he said. "That’s the problem. A lot of people rush things."

That’s good knowledge at any speed.