Blackman quarterback Jauan Jennings, a 6-foot-4, 187-pound dual-threat quarterback, threw for 2,155 yards with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions this past year. He also rushed for more than 800 yards with 17 rushing touchdowns.MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Jauan Jennings beamed as he proudly clutched his Tennessee Titans Mr. Football award with both hands, almost as if he was afraid it might be taken away from him if he loosened his grip.
If the Tennessee-bound quarterback entered his senior season at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro with something to prove, the trophy he carried home Monday served as strong evidence that he'd done so.
Though he was classified by the recruiting services as an athlete and his ability to play quarterback in college was questioned, Jennings made impressive strides after committing to the Volunteers in April. He will start his Tennessee career next month knowing he can play the position.
"A lot of people thought I couldn't play quarterback in high school, and then all of a sudden when I could play it, it ... was just because I was an athlete," Jennings said. "I'm not really worried about that. I can't prove anything right now.
"I'm just going to have to wait until I get up there to prove people wrong, but that's not really my main focus, of proving them wrong. It's to better myself as a person and better myself at that position. I'm ready to go up there to compete, definitely.
"Proving people wrong, it's really not even in my mind, because once I prove people wrong, then all of a sudden it's turned into they knew I could play quarterback all along, so I'm not really worried about that at all."
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Jennings led Blackman to 9-1 regular-season record and into the Class 6A quarterfinals, where the Blaze were eliminated by Murfreesboro rival Oakland. Oakland has two fellow Tennessee commitments: offensive lineman Jack Jones, who repeated as a Mr. Football winner Monday, and tight end Kyle Oliver.
The four-star prospect threw for 2,155 yards with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions and added more than 800 rushing yards with 17 touchdowns, and offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian was one of three Tennessee assistant coaches in attendance Monday to see him take home some hardware.
Jennings called winning the award a "humbling experience" and thanked his parents and Blackman coach Philip Shadowens for keeping him focused and steady "to what I want to accomplish."
Perhaps no one had a better perspective on Jennings' improvement in the last year than his coach.
"It's not even close," Shadowens said. "He just works really hard to be a great player and has really made a lot of advancements in his game. He still has some ways that he wants to go, but he is obsessed with being great.
"He'll continue to work to get better, and he'll have a great college career."
Current Tennessee freshmen Jalen Hurd and Josh Malone won the Mr. Football Class AAA back award the last two years, and like those players, Jennings is another top in-state product who decided to stay home.
His family, which includes relatives in the Chattanooga area, has roots in Tennessee, and his mother, Angela Jennings, stressed to him how important it'd be to "represent your own house."
Jennings is glad he's going to do that.
"It's very huge," he said. "Most of my family lives in Tennessee, so they'll be able to come to the games. Tennessee, I just knew was just on the rise. When everybody was doubting them, I just believed in Tennessee, just because they're more than just a football team up there. They all show great character.
"I'm just glad I'm going up there, because I feel like that's home."
Tennessee's coaching staff, Jennings said, is a big reason why he feels that way.
"Their main interest is not to figure how good you are as a player, but to figure out how great a character you have and what's instilled in your foundation as a person," he said. "That's why I love them, and that's why they love me, because we're both about character.
"That's all I've been brought up to have, is to have great character, have good body language and focus on the better things in life, because football's only going to be there for a certain amount of time."
Jennings increased his academic workload this semester so he could join fellow quarterback commitment Quinten Dormady as a January enrollee.
And when he gets there, he has one position and one goal on his mind.
"I'm going up there to play quarterback," Jennings said. "I'm not trying to do that. I'm going to go up there to play quarterback. It's just a matter of how bad I want it.
"I've got to go earn it myself. No one can just throw a position to me, whether I play quarterback or free safety or whether I play receiver. It doesn't matter, any position I go up there, I'm going to have to earn."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.