Jauan Jennings didn’t have much left to do but hope and pray for a second chance last November.

So that’s what the Tennessee wide receiver did.

“My priority was not going anywhere else,” Jennings said Monday. “I didn’t think about going to play anywhere else. I was just focused on getting back on the team.”

At the time, Jennings was exiled from the Tennessee football program. He came to practice on Nov. 22 aiming to play against Vanderbilt in the season finale. It didn’t go as he desired.

The Murfreesboro Blackman graduate left and posted an expletive-laden tirade on Instagram against the former coaching staff. He called them fakes and snakes, accusing them of lying and holding Tennessee back. He asked for UT to “send us a great-(expletive) coaching staff.”

He was promptly dismissed by former interim head coach Brady Hoke and former athletics director John Currie.

But his hopes of playing for Tennessee – and only Tennessee – again became reality when the decision was reversed by coach Jeremy Pruitt and athletics director Phillip Fulmer.

“It was kind of just both me reaching out to them and them reaching out to me,” Jennings said in his first media availability since August 2017. “We got together and we hashed out the difficulties and now we are here.”

The process for Jennings’ reinstatement began when Pruitt was hired Dec. 7, filling the post that formerly belonged to Butch Jones. In January, Pruitt said Jennings initially reached out to Fulmer and the pair met. Then Pruitt contacted Jennings and met with him.

The new powers-that-be at Tennessee outlined a path for Jennings to rejoin the Vols. Pruitt challenged Jennings to take care of things and “mature up off the field.” He said he would do so and has.

“He’s done everything that I’ve asked him to do since I’ve been here,” Pruitt said. “He’s one of my favorite guys. The guy competes, works hard. He loves the University of Tennessee and has a passion for it.”

That love and passion had Jennings in a challenging spot last November. He wasn’t a member of the Vols, but wanted that and nothing else. He said Monday that playing for UT means a lot to him as a Tennessee native.

Jennings said he “learned a lot” when that was taken away and the past 10 months “made me who I am today.” He did not address why he posted the video that led to his dismissal.

Pruitt officially confirmed Jennings’ return in March, but the junior wide receiver first had to get healthy. He missed spring football while rehabbing from an arthroscopic knee procedure. UT brought him along slowly in preseason camp.

Now healthy, his presence is being felt. Junior wide receiver Marquez Callaway said Jennings has become more dialed in since he returned.

“(It’s) just his emotion and how much he loves football,” Callaway said. “You can tell by practice, by going to class with him and by being his roommate, you can tell how much he loves this sport.”

Jennings has made 17 catches for 207 yards and two touchdowns this season after missing last season with a wrist injury suffered in the season opener against Georgia Tech.

He had a highlight 25-yard touchdown grab to give Tennessee its first lead in its 30-24 win at Auburn on Saturday. He set season highs in catches with five and yards with 71 as UT snapped an 11-game SEC losing streak.

But those numbers and the impressive touchdown catch aren’t what excites Jennings these days. He’s just thankful to be back at Tennessee and playing with his teammates again.

“That’s the most important thing to me and getting that second chance to come back. It means so much,” Jennings said. “I’m just thankful.”

Jennings got the perfect chance to express that gratitude Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. He and Fulmer met near midfield, sharing a passionate embrace. Fulmer told Jennings to keep going and keep leading the Vols in a moment that meant a lot to the beloved wide receiver.

Jennings told him, “I got you, Coach.”

“I’m just grateful to be back here with the team,” Jennings said. “Just seeing him after the game and telling him thank you once again meant a lot.”