Jauan Jennings pauses to think as he rubs his chin and his eyes drift toward the ceiling.



How to describe his time at Tennessee? No one word could carry that weight. Even a sentence trying to summarize the highs and lows would have to choose between being a run-on or incomplete.



But Jennings gives it a try.



“It was a teaching moment,” Jennings told The Athletic this week. “But it was awesome. It’s made me the person I am today. I’m just thankful I came to UT.”



His career has been well-stocked with lessons that have molded him. It’s taught him to be flexible, and that a change of plans can chart a new course that took him places he never thought he’d go. It’s taught him that one catch can make a player beloved and a second can make him a legend. It’s taught him what it means to be both in his home state.



It’s taught him what can happen when he loses control of the fire that...