Jauan Jennings (15) runs for yardage after a pass reception. The Ohio University Bobcats visited the University of Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium in a non-conference NCAA football game on Saturday September 17, 2016. KNOXVILLE – By his nature, Jauan Jennings is the kind of wide receiver who flirts with a personal foul or unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by mixing it up with an opposing defensive back 30 yards away from a running play.
Now the Tennessee sophomore is becoming just as likely to make big catches and score touchdowns.
Jennings was a key figure in the Volunteers’ win against Florida this past Saturday. He showed both sides of his game by drawing a penalty on Gators cornerback Quincy Wilson after Tennessee’s first snap and later catching three passes for 111 yards, including the go-ahead 67-yard touchdown against Florida star Jalen Tabor.
The former quarterback seemingly drew after-the-play penalties regularly as a freshman, but Tennessee’s coaches have no intentions of reigning in that competitiveness, which should be on display again Saturday at Georgia.
“You don’t risk it at all, because he’s doing it within the whistle,” offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said Wednesday. “He’s been playing smart that way. I will say this: We talk about it as coaches the next day and we talked to our players about it on Monday when they came into the meetings and we showed them: Look how Jauan Jennings frustrated them.