 Jeanty attended Carol City High School, where he was rated the 14th-best player in the nation and sixth-best in Florida by "The Miami Herald".Jeanty played for two seasons at the University of Central Florida, from 2000–2001, logging 9.5 sacks and 137 tackles in 22 games.In 2001, he earned the second team All-Freshman honors from "The Football News" and was named to "The Sporting News" third-team Freshman All-America team.