49ers’ Super Bowl trick play TD engineered by former high school, college QB
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Jauan Jennings threw a pass to Christian McCaffrey for the Niners' first touchdown of the game.
Jauan Jennings got to relive his college days midway through the second quarter of Super Bowl LVIII when he helped the 49ers take a 10-0 lead over the Chiefs.
Jennings, a former quarterback at the University of Tennessee, hauled in a backward pass from Brock Purdy on the first stage of a trick play called by 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.
The 6-foot-4 wide receiver then tossed a looping ball back across the field to Christian McCaffrey, who ran upfield for a 21-yard touchdown with 4:23 left in the half.
Jennings became the first wide receiver to throw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl since former Steelers wideout Antwaan Randle El did so in 2006 in Super Bowl 40.
Jennings was rated as a four-star quarterback recruit coming out of Blackman High School in Murfreesboro Tennessee, a town 30 minutes outside of Nashville.
According to stats inputted into MaxPreps, Jennings threw for 2,169 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior in high school.
Jennings converted to wide receiver at Tennessee, where he caught a game-winning Hail Mary pass against Georgia in 2016. He still ended up throwing two touchdowns for the Vols before being drafted by the 49ers in 2020.
KYLE SHANAHAN IS IN HIS BAG pic.twitter.com/s1GFoFRzf8
— NFL on CBS
(@NFLonCBS) February 12, 2024