Pruitt likely to meet with Jennings soon
KNOXVILLE — Since Jeremy Pruitt took over as Tennessee’s football coach last month, the Volunteers have signed 14 players while losing three who declared early for the NFL draft.
As the roster turnover continues, there appears to be a chance a former player could rejoin the Vols.
Pruitt discussed the status of dismissed wide receiver Jauan Jennings while meeting with media Wednesday on campus.
“There will be a time, probably in the next couple of days, where me and him possibly sit down and kind of see where things are at,” Pruitt said.
Jennings, a junior in 2017, was injured in the opener against Georgia Tech and missed the rest of the season.
In late November, he was kicked off the team by interim coach Brady Hoke after Jennings posted a rant on Instagram. In the video, Jennings used profanity several times and a racial slur repeatedly to express his displeasure with Tennessee’s coaching staff.
His anger apparently stemmed from the fact he was not cleared to play in the season finale against Vanderbilt.
John Currie, the athletic director at the time, approved Hoke’s decision to dismiss Jennings, who is etched in Vols football folklore for his Hail Mary touchdown catch in a last-second win at Georgia in 2016.
However, since Phillip Fulmer was named athletic director in early December, he and Jennings have had discussions. Jennings is not currently enrolled at Tennessee, according to a student directory, and classes for spring term began Wednesday.
“Obviously there’s been some movements that happened before I was here,” Pruitt said. “I really had no control over that. From my standpoint, I know that Jauan has reached out to Coach Fulmer and I know they’ve met. I actually reached out to him because I felt like him talking to Coach Fulmer, I should do that.”
Jennings had 40 catches for 580 yards and seven touchdowns in 2016, and he was Tennessee’s leading returning receiver entering this past season.