There are times when Alabama’s outside linebackers are breaking down film that redshirt senior Anfernee Jennings is the only player in the game they’re studying that is still in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“Everybody will be looking up at me, like, ‘Dang, you’re old,’” Jennings said. “But I just know the time flies by, and I try to get them to understand that you might count the days sometimes, but it really flies by. I just try to tell them not to count the days and make the days count.”

Jennings’ time with the Crimson Tide is winding down. He knows that.

He will begin his final season in less than three weeks when Alabama opens its 2019 campaign against Duke in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But even though he is entering his fifth and final year, Jennings still has plenty to do -- and prove -- before he moves onto the next level.

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In fall camp, Jennings has been another coach on the field for UA’s outside linebackers.

With Christian Miller and Jamey Mosley running out of eligibility and Eyabi Anoma transferring to Houston, the Tide will be counting on some younger players to provide depth off the edge this fall.

During preseason practices, Jennings has pulled freshmen like Kevin Harris and King Mwikuta to the side during water breaks to give them a few pointers on the drills they just completed.

“I definitely try to lead by example, for sure,” Jennings said. “But this year and, I think, last year, I tried to be more of a vocal leader and bring guys with me by saying it and doing it. I’ve seen them. I know what they can do, and sometimes, they fall short because of confidence. I know that they’ve got it. They definitely know I care, so that’s the only reason I get mad or anything -- like I would want somebody to get mad or stay on me about something.”

Anfernee Jennings

Jennings is a quiet person. He always has been. But he lets his voice be heard when necessary.

“Only when he needed to,” said Richard White, Jennings’ head coach at Dadeville (Ala.) High School. “He’s not a big rah-rah, listen-to-me, look-at-me type guy. He just does his job on the football field. When he walks off the field, he’s as meek and mild as they come. He’s a perfect gentleman, a yes sir, no sir type of guy, but when he walks between those white lines, he knows there’s business to be done and that’s the way he plays. He plays with a little edge.”

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Jennings now has one full season and two offseasons between him and a scary knee injury that ended his 2017 campaign in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Clemson. Jennings suffered artery damage and had a blood clot in his left leg from the injury and underwent surgery shortly after returning from New Orleans. But he is confident and said his knee feels better than ever.

The injury isn’t something Jennings spoke at length about, whether in interviews with a group of local reporters or during our one-on-one sitdown. It’s now in his past. But those close to him know the severity of the situation and how much more comfortable Jennings is a year and a half later.

“Even though he was on the field, it takes a while to really rely on that knee again and play the way that you were playing,” said Matt Harrison, Jennings’ defensive line coach at Dadeville. “Because any injury of that magnitude -- I mean, he almost lost his leg -- that’s going to hinder how you play mentally, no matter how good you are. You’ve got to rely on it more and realize, ‘Hey, everything I’m doing is OK, and I can really come off the ball.’”

“I think last year, he was a little cautious, maybe, early in the season,” White said. “You never know, coming off that type of injury, whether or not that knee’s going to hold up. But I think the more the season went, the looser he played and turned it loose a little more. And I think he’s seen now that he’s well and he’s healed, and I think he’s going to turn loose and do what they ask him to do on defense. And if he does, I think he’ll have a great season.”

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Since his injury is now behind him, Jennings is no longer focused on it. His attention is on fall camp and how he and his teammates can improve every day in order to see success this season.

That approach is why Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding showered Jennings with praise.

Anfernee Jennings

“When you talk about an Alabama defense, to me, just watching them over the years and just studying, I think when you watch it, it’s a relentless effort,” Golding said. “It’s guys who are just mentally tough regardless of whether there’s a tackle for a loss or a tackle, how he lines up, how he plays the next play. Then there’s the physical toughness. like when you play at Alabama and you see that on tape -- how physical those guys are -- that doesn’t start on Saturday. That’s done every day, and that’s Anfernee Jennings, to me.

“Whether it’s individual or team run and we’re going 11-on-11 or it’s Saturday, it’s the same speed. He’s got the most focus in our meetings. His attention to detail, he busts his butt and it shows up on Saturday. To me, he’s got out what he put in. It’s invaluable to have a guy like that that is a good player. ... It goes a long, long way. His hard work and his dedication, that builds into his leadership, and I think he now has the ability to hold other people accountable because he does everything the way he’s supposed to.”

Jennings has been like that since he was playing 30-40 snaps a game for Dadeville’s varsity team as a ninth-grader. The former 4-star recruit and the No. 7 weak-side defensive end in 2015, according to 247Sports, was taught to pursue the ball until it was down or in the end zone.

“From the very beginning, his work ethic,” Harrison said. “You could just tell he was an athlete. You could tell by the way he walked, by the way he practiced, by the way he did what he had to do, you could tell that he was going to be special. He worked his ninth-grade year the same way he worked his senior year. Now, maybe he got a little better at giving effort the whole time, but as far as his want-to, it was always there.”

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Jennings is coming off a season with 51 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. His 2018 totals also included a team-high 11 pass breakups, his first career interception and a scoop and score. The 6-foot-3, 259-pound linebacker has been projected as a potential first-round draft pick next April and was named to the watch lists for the Butkus Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

But he still has the chip on his shoulder that has rested there all of his life.

“Where I’m from, that’s how we were raised,” Jennings said. “Where I’m from and struggling how I’ve struggled throughout my life and just knowing where I come from, I’m always going to have a chip on my shoulder. I think it comes from just me understanding from a young age from my mom and my grandparents that understanding how to work hard and learning how to reap the benefits of working hard and just watching them and seeing how hard they worked. I just work hard.”

Jennings hails from Dadeville, Ala., which is located in Tallapoosa County. According to Harrison, “It’s not a rich county, and it’s not like we have all the amenities that all the other places have.”

Anfernee Jennings

He was also basically raised in a single-parent home.

“His dad wasn’t in his life, pretty much his whole life,” Harrison said. “It was him and his brother and his mom and his grandparents. I’m pretty sure that he wants to prove to his dad the things that young men want to prove to their dads who haven’t been in their lives as much as they wish they would have.”

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Jennings already has a bachelor’s degree in human performance and exercise science, and in December, he will earn his master’s in public health. He has goals for his on-field performance, as well, but he chooses to keep those to himself. Just know he and his teammates are “hungry” and are undoubtedly motivated by the 28-point loss to Clemson in last year’s national title game.

“I think you’re going to see a big change in him this year because, after that one year, he saw what he can do,” Harrison said. “He’s going to be a wrecking ball when the season starts. This is now his fifth year, and he’s just going to be a fifth-year senior that’s big and strong and athletic and fast. He’s just going to show everybody what he can do.”

A stalwart on the Crimson Tide defensive front, Jennings epitomizes what an Alabama defender is supposed to be, according to his coaches. And that’s how the linebacker wants to be remembered.

“First, my character,” Jennings said. “Somebody that you could always count on. Somebody that always showed up and did his job and brought out the best in the people around him. Somebody that’s a role model. Somebody that gave everything that he had to this program and reaped the benefits of it.”

His time in Tuscaloosa is running out, but Jennings is looking to make his final season count.

“I know that there’s work to be done,” he said. “I know that I ain’t done yet.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).

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