Tennessee added a four-star wide receiver on the first day of practice. It wasn’t a new commitment on the recruiting trail, but a new position for one of the most talented athletes in the incoming freshman class – Jauan Jennings.
After working exclusively at quarterback in the spring, the Murfreesboro native and four-star athlete made the switch official on Tuesday night, working exclusively with the receivers, at least during the open portion of practice. Butch Jones said in his pre-fall camp press conference that he’ll get some reps at quarterback too, but based on some of the initial impressions, receiver might be the right choice for the bulked-up, 6-foot-4, 202-pound Jennings.
“I’m excited about Jauan,” Jones said following practice No. 1. “You know, he’s kind of sipping through a fire hose right now at the wide receiver position, but I see an individual who is a very, very gifted athlete. He’s very, very competitive and he has very good hands and he loves to compete. He made some catches today where you kind of did a double-take and he got you excited. So, for Day 1, I was very, very encouraged with him.”
There were a couple drops too, as would be expected in anybody’s first day on the practice field at a new position.
Jauan Jennings getting the hang of wide receiver https://t.co/bHsd84QBvF
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) August 5, 2015
But the move seems to be a natural one on a couple different levels. Jennings certainly showed some good things in the spring at quarterback, but most involved his athleticism. The mechanics of the position were clearly behind starter Joshua Dobbs and fellow incoming freshman Quinten Dormady. Sometimes the numbers just have a way of making decisions for a team.
The Vols added four-star QB Sheriron Jones, who showed some good things on Tuesday throwing the ball, over the summer, and receivers Von Pearson (suspension) and Preston Williams (academic clearance/injury) are both currently out with little idea of if or when they’ll return.
All those factors led to this decision. And for Dobbs, he now has another weapon at receiver – one who used to sit in his position meetings.
“It was different, but it was a good different,” Dobbs said. “Jauan is really athletic as we all know. It was kind of like he just went out there and started balling. He had a really good day, he picked up on stuff well. Obviously going from quarterback, he already knew all the stuff, but he definitely picked up on it well. He was running good routes and showed hands, so it was exciting.”
Tight spiral and strong arm from Sheriron Jones, nice extension and catch by Jennings on his first day at W… https://t.co/47Wz7Y3EeE
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) August 5, 2015
