Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jauan Jennings didn't set any records during his time on Rocky Top. And he wasn't a highly touted NFL prospect. Yet he's a huge fan favorite among Vols fans.
That's the case because of the way Jennings played the game during his time at Tennessee.
Jennings doesn't care about how many times the ball is thrown his way or what his final stats are at the end of a game. All he cares about is getting a win, which is the reason he gives 100 percent effort on every single play. It's that mindset that made Jennings a fan favorite on Rocky Top (and it's what's made him a fan favorite in the NFL among San Francisco 49ers fans, too).
The Vols added player to their roster this offseason that has a similar mindset.
Tulane transfer wide receiver Chris Brazzell joined Tennessee this offseason after his coach, Willie Fritz, left Tulane for Houston. Brazell wasn't looking to transfer this offseason, but once his coach left, he figured he'd look around -- which is what led him to Knoxville.
In Brazzell, the Vols are getting a big wide receiver who can stretch the field and provide a big target for quarterback Nico Iamaleava. They're also getting a player that cares about winning games more than anything else.
Brazzell met with reporters on Wednesday after Tennessee's practice and he was asked what he thinks he can bring to the Vols' offense.
And the first thing he mentioned is winning.
"I'm just hopefully able to win some games for the team," said Brazzell. "I feel like all of the receivers better each other. We got a lot of dogs on the team. So meshing me with guys like Bru (McCoy) and Squirrel (White)."
That's not the first comment that Brazzell's made since transferring to Tennessee that focuses on winning.
Brazzell recently joined the Locked on SEC podcast and he talked about some of his big games at Tulane. The Texas native pointed out that the big games he had at Tulane were because his team had to win those games, so he stepped up.
Brazzell was specifically asked what was clicking in the last two games of the regular season when he had big performances against FAU and UTSA.
The former three-star recruit noted that he was once committed to FAU so he was motivated to have a big game. And Tulane had to get a win against UTSA to play for the conference championship.
"UTSA, that was a game that we had to win," said Brazzell. "If we would've lost that game, they would've got to the conference championship (game) and we would've been sitting out. So it was go hard or go home that game and luckily I was able to come through."
There's a big importance put on physical skills/abilities when it comes to evaluating college football players. Brazzell has those physical skills -- he can run short intermediate routes or he can take the top of the defense -- but he's also an elite competitor who is focused on winning games. And ultimately, that's the mindset that Tennessee has to have present in order to make it through the gauntlet of the SEC season somewhat unscathed.
Elite talent doesn't always show up on Saturdays, but elite competitors do. When you can combine the two, special things can happen. And that's why fans should be extremely excited about watching Brazzell this fall.
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