Vol tops depth chart at new position
KNOXVILLE — Tennessee’s Jauan Jennings says he wasn’t even thinking about the possibility of cracking the starting lineup for the season opener when he moved from quarterback to wide receiver last month.
Now he is on top of the depth chart as the 25th-ranked Volunteers prepare for Saturday’s game against Bowling Green at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, about a 45-minute drive from Jennings’ hometown of Murfreesboro. Not bad for someone who says his experience at receiver before last month was limited to backyard games with his brothers.
The 6-foot-4 freshman said he is a little surprised by his rapid rise.
“But me (having) played quarterback, I kind of knew the playbook,” he said. “I just had to learn the techniques. ... Great teammates just help you a lot with that.”
Jennings was one of three quarterback prospects to sign with Tennessee in the 2015 recruiting class, and he worked out with the Vols at quarterback during spring practice. But he knew he wouldn’t play right away unless he switched positions.
Junior Joshua Dobbs already had cemented his status as starting quarterback. Jennings wasn’t as polished a passer as freshman Quinten Dormady, who has since been named Dobbs’ top backup. Jennings welcomed the possibility of catching passes instead of throwing them.
“His mentality’s what sets him apart,” wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni said. “Some guys have that mentality where they don’t quit, they don’t stop, they just keep coming back. He’s ultra-competitive, and that’s what’s propelled him to that spot.”
Jennings’ emergence has boosted a receiving corps that had a rough preseason. Alton “Pig” Howard was suspended for the season opener due to a violation of team rules. Jason Croom and Vincent Perry underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, knocking Perry out for the season and sidelining Croom for at least a few weeks. Preston Williams wasn’t cleared by the NCAA until Friday.
Jennings isn’t the only preseason surprise. Colton Jumper, a sophomore walk-on, is listed as the Vols’ firstteam middle linebacker after winning a six-man competition for the job.
“He’s really shown a level of consistency we’re looking for at the Mike linebacker position,” defensive coordinator John Jancek said. “He’s really gotten better each and every single day he’s been out on the field.”
DEVELOPMENTS
Vandy QB kept secret: Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason knows whether Johnny McCrary or Wade Freebeck will start against Western Kentucky in the season opener. He just refuses to say which quarterback won the job.
“You’ll see it Thursday night, 7:01. Get ready,” Mason said Tuesday.
Mason said he and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig selected their starter a week and a half ago. “My idea is take the pressure off these guys and let’s go play the game,” Mason said. “It’s not about who the fans may want to see or what they need to know, it’s what puts these guys in the best possible situation to play well.”
Vols lineman arrested: Tennessee defensive lineman Andrew Butcher was arrested Sunday morning on alcohol-related misdemeanor charges. Butcher, an 18-year-old freshman from Alpharetta, Georgia, faces charges of public intoxication and underage consumption as well as a controlled access roadway violation.
Sun Belt expands: Sun Belt Conference officials say Coastal Carolina has accepted an invitation to join the league and in doing so will move its football program up to the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision by 2018.
Coastal Carolina, in Conway, South Carolina, will join the Sun Belt in all sports except football beginning with the 2016-17 academic year.
Briefly: UCLA suspended cornerback Ishmael Adams indefinitely after his arrest last weekend on suspicion of felony robbery. ... Former Oklahoma State return man and running back Ty Hill enrolled at Division II West Alabama. Hill was dismissed from Oklahoma State’s football and track teams in December 2014 after his arrest on domestic violence charges.