On Sunday night, Tennessee’s football program held a banquet for the entire team of players and coaches. After dinner and some speeches, several Vols were honored with team awards for their outstanding performances during the 2019 regular season.
Redshirt senior wide receiver Jauan Jennings, senior wide receiver Marquez Callaway, and senior linebacker Daniel Bituli all waked away with awards after Sunday night’s ceremony.
Jennings was named Tennessee’s Team MVP for his services to the team during the 12-game regular season. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound wideout from Murfreesboro, TN has been the heart and soul of Tennessee’s offense, and he’s been one of the top leaders for UT’s entire team.
The fifth-year wideout leads the Vols in just about every major statistical receiving category, and he’s one of the top wide receivers in the SEC as well. Jennings has 57 receptions for 942 yards and eight touchdowns on the year along with 12 rushes for 46 yards and a score as a wildcat quarterback. His nine touchdowns are the most on the team by a non-quarterback.
Both Callaway and Bituli were named the MVPs of their respective sides of the ball. Callaway was named the Vols’ Offensive Player of the Year while Bituli was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year award. Bituli also was awarded the Bill Majors Award, an annual honor given to the Vol who “best exemplifies the dedication toward football displayed by Bill Majors, a player and coach for the Vols who died tragically at age 26” according to Tennessee.
Callaway has been the Vols’ biggest downfield threat in the passing game, and his ability to bring down jump balls is unparalleled. His 21.2 yard per catch average this season leads the entire SEC. He’s hauled in 29 catches for a career-high 616 yards and six scores on the year, and he’s returned a punt for a touchdown as well, totaling 150 yards and a score on 10 punt returns this season.
As for Bituli, the senior linebacker from Nashville leads the team in tackles despite missing the first two games of the season. Bituli has a career-high 82 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble, two passes defended, and a blocked kick that he also recovered for a touchdown in 10 games this season.
Tennessee also announced their 2019 team captains at the ceremony, selecting five seniors as the Vols’ representatives. Jennings, Bituli, and Callaway were joined by outside linebacker Darrell Taylor and safety Nigel Warrior as team captains.
2019 Team Captains:
Daniel Bituli
Jauan Jennings
Nigel Warrior
Marquez Callaway
Darrell Taylor#PoweredByTheT pic.twitter.com/D3Y2pO9r81— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) December 10, 2019
You can watch a brief, two-minute clip of the banquet and some comical moments with Vol players below:
We gathered the Tennessee Football family last night for our 2019 season banquet.
There was a lot to celebrate ?#PoweredByTheT pic.twitter.com/qbo3YeUgjI
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) December 9, 2019
