KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Former Tennessee football players Josh Dobbs and Jauan Jennings used to be teammates on the Vols and had been training together in Dallas to get ready for the upcoming NFL season.
Dobbs was a free agent and Jennings was just signed again by the San Francisco 49ers. Then, Dobbs got the news he was going to sign with the 49ers.
When the two found out, they were overcome with joy.
"We had been throwing anyways and I texted him we are teammates again," Dobbs told WBIR at the Orange and White game. "Since then it has been good to have him as a reference as I start to learn the offense."
Jennings couldn't believe it.
"I just called him and was like, 'No way, no way.' He was like, 'I told you, bruh.' I just can't wait," Jennings told WBIR at the Orange and White game. "I'm happy for him. He is coming to a great team. I know he wants to win and that's what we do with the 49ers."
Dobbs was taken in the 2017 NFL Draft and Jennings was drafted in the 2020 draft out of UT.
Dobbs said the fact they're teaming up again brings back a lot of fond memories. It will forever be in Tennessee lore that Hail Mary pass in 2016, as Dobbs found Jennings to beat Georgia on the road.
"Jauan was like my little brother when he got to campus," Dobbs said. "Just to be able to get back to work with him, man, and see the true professional he has grown into, the stud wide receiver he has grown into, man, I'm really proud of him and excited to get back to work with him."
Dobbs said the connection between the two from back at UT to now is like riding a bike.
One play they both reflect on fondly was a trick play they ran in 2015 against Florida. Dobbs threw a screen to Jennings and then Jennings threw it back to Dobbs, who ran it in for a 58-yard touchdown.
Jennings made a similar play in last year's Super Bowl when he threw the same pass off a screen on the same kind of trick play to 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. That happened to be not by design to the play at Tennessee according to Jennings though.
"That was a great play," Jennings said. "I never realized it was kind of similar to the one I had here, at Tennessee, until after I saw the play online."
Dobbs and Jennings hope to be Super Bowl champions next season. The 49ers ended up losing to the Kanas City Chiefs. Former Tennessee offensive lineman Trey Smith was on the Chiefs that won back-to-back Super Bowls and he showed off some hardware.
Smith let Tennessee football recruits hold his ring and took pictures with them as they held the ring. He told WBIR at the game the feeling never gets old.
"It's special," he said. "Football is a very competitive sport, especially in the NBFL. Being able to stay on the mountain top within a year knowing you're the champion of the league is a special feeling. Regardless of how many times you win it, it is such a priceless moment just understanding what it took to get there."
Smith played with Dobbs and Jennings at Tennessee.