Jared Jenkins knows making the transition to the Arena game isn’t going to be easy.

The angles are different. The field is smaller. The speed is faster.

Coming straight from the outdoor game, it’s a tough adjustment to make.

And yet, if there’s one spot where rookies seem to make an immediate impact year-in and year-out, it’s the wide receiver position.

Since the award was established in 1997, 15 players have been named AFL Rookie of the Year. Eleven of them have been receivers.

In fact, a receiver has been named the League’s top rookie every year since 2004, when Indiana Firebirds quarterback Adrian McPherson came away with the award.

Those stats bode well for Jenkins, who will make his Arena Football debut for the Milwaukee Mustangs in March after spending time with the St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions earlier in 2011.

But despite an impressive college career at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder finished as not only the school’s all-time leading receiver, but also a two-time All-American punter and a three-year star on the Pointers’ basketball team, Jenkins comes to the AFL with no previous Arena experience.

“I’ve watched the game and I’ve always enjoyed it,” Jenkins said. “Hopefully my height and speed will create some mismatches and ‘big play’ ability.”

The Mustangs see plenty of potential, but if there’s one thing any player will tell you, it takes more than just athleticism to catch on in Arena Football.

“Believe it or not, even the routes you run in Arena Football are a little different than the outdoor game,” Arizona Rattlers receiver Maurice Purify said.

Like Jenkins, Purify came into the game with no prior Arena Football experience. But the 2011 Rookie of the Year credits his success last season with the Georgia Force to watching and learning.

“I was surrounded by a lot of veteran players who were willing to teach me the game and show me how things were done and I was willing to listen,” Purify said.

Veteran leadership seems to play an integral role in developing young receivers. The story was the same for two-time Offensive Player of the Year, Chris Jackson, who earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2000.

“For the majority of my career, there was some element of familiarity,” Jackson said. “We were playing against the same teams, same schemes and pretty much the same players. There were eight- and nine-year veterans helping the young guys learn the game.”

Jackson picked up the game quickly, as the three-time ArenaBowl participant notched eight 1,000 yard receiving seasons in nine years and now ranks in the top three in virtually every career receiving category.

Of course, if there’s one player who exemplified making an immediate impact on the field and in the record books, it would be former Orlando Predator and San Jose SaberCats Ironman, Barry Wagner.

As a rookie in 1992, Wagner orchestrated what became known as the “Miracle Minute.” In the final minute of the Predators’ game against the Detroit Drive, Wagner scored two touchdowns, two two-point conversions, recovered an onside kick and made a defensive stop to give Orlando a 50-49 win.

The Hall of Famer played in 190 games and recorded seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons over his 16 year career, but insists his quick adjustment to the Arena game and overall success as a receiver and defensive back was about more than just physical ability.

“You have to study the game, you can’t just rely on raw talent,” Wagner said. “I didn’t just play the game. I studied the game. I learned.”

Wagner says having a commitment to one’s craft is essential to succeed in the AFL. But while no one can expect the same sort of early or overall success enjoyed by one of the game’s all-time greats, his example of hard work, attention to detail and preparation for the unexpected is certainly one rookie receivers can look to for guidance.

Before Wagner’s rookie season, Orlando practiced outdoors, making the adjustment even more difficult than expected.

“I didn’t actually get into the Arena until the first preseason game and then I realized it was a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be,” Wagner remembered.

The influence of the AFL’s all-time touchdown leader and others led to expanded opportunities in the Arena game for future players like Donovan Morgan and Rod Windsor, both of whom earned af2 Rookie of the Year honors before winning the AFL award in 2008 and 2010, respectively.

“I don't think I would have been playing football today if I hadn't played in the af2,” Windsor, now a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, said.

The experience of the af2 certainly helped many current Arena Football League wideouts pick up the game, but for guys like Jared Jenkins, learning will take place on the fly.

“It’s still football, but the adjustment to the game is not going to be as easy as some people might think,” Jenkins said. 

How quickly Jenkins can make that adjustment will go a long way in determining whether he can be the next rookie to make an instant impact in Arena Football.  

He’ll get his chance soon. Training camp gets underway in mid-February.