Butch Jones and his staff may finally be rebuilding the Vols right back to prominence. PHOTO: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Happy Monday, Vol fans. The week of the annual Orange and White game has started off with a bang, as 4-star dual-threat QB Jauan Jennings announced this morning he is committing to the Vols for the 2015 recruiting class.
According to 247Sports, Jennings is the No. 1 overall player in the state of Tennessee, and the Murfreesboro product from Blackman High School is the No. 80 player in the nation.
The 6-2 186 lb. Jennings chose the Vols over offers from Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ohio State, and a slew of other schools.
While it is expected Jennings will play QB at the collegiate level, he brings an impressive skill set to the table. He is technically rated a 4-star athlete because he also plays safety on the defensive side of the ball. He even played basketball for Blackman the past two seasons, averaging 12.4 points per game this previous season (per maxpreps.com)
Jennings’ skill set is immense, and while he is a solid safety in high school, his ceiling on defense is not nearly as high as it is for his offensive play. Jennings is truly a dual-threat QB, as he threw for 1,465 yards with 14 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in 2013, his first season as a starting QB. He also ran for 815 yards and 10 TD’s on the ground, providing just as much of a threat as a runner as he did as a passer.
Jennings’ commitment is huge for the Vols, especially since they did not land a QB commitment in the last recruiting class. As long as Jennings sticks with his decision to join the Vols, he will have a chance to either compete immediately when he enrolls as a freshman or have a chance to sit back and learn the offense, depending on how the QB situation plays out this season.
Regardless of the QB situation after this season, a player of Jennings’ caliber can only help the Vols. It is the second time in as many seasons the Vols have received a commitment from the state’s top prospect months before National Signing Day, as it was a little over a year ago that Jalen Hurd committed to the Vols.
Butch Jones and his staff are continuing the work they did with the 2014 class by assembling another potential top 10 recruiting class this season, and Jennings could be one of the big gems of this class.
Stats for Jauan Jennings via AL.com