NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Ali Jennings III might consider his decision to transfer to Old Dominion life-changing.
"Definitely put myself in a position to succeed, gaining my confidence back, gaining my swagger back and it just helped me elevate my game," the junior wide receiver said following practice on Tuesday.
Jennings was at West Virginia, searching for ways to increase his role and get back to being himself. He felt like he had hit a low point and needed a change.
"I definitely lost my confidence," he recalled. "I got into my own head, I had to deal with a few injuries and stuff like that, COVID going on. It was a pretty rough year for me and when I decided to come here, everybody embraced me. My coaches, my teammates, they all helped me get my confidence back and a result of that was last season."
The campaign Jennings is referring to helped him burst onto the scene. He played in all 13 games, pulling in 62 receptions for 1,066 yards and five touchdowns. His yardage total was good enough for third-most in program history. The regular season finale against Charlotte saw Jennings catch nine passes for 252 yards and three scores.
"I always felt like I was capable of having games like that," the junior said of his career showing to end the 2021 regular season. "I just needed people to trust in me, for me to believe in myself and the stars to align and they did that game. "
"I think for him it's always going to be about the consistency," added ODU head coach Ricky Rahne. "The other thing he did in that game was he made some plays after the catch."
Jennings isn't the only one with high expectations for himself this season. The Sun Belt coaches appear high on the wide receiver as well, selecting him to the Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team. He's one of ten starters back for the Monarchs on the offensive side of the ball.
"The sky isn't even the limit for us," he said of the offense. "We all come together, play well, we're going to be a tough team to stop."
Old Dominion kicks off the regular season at S.B. Ballard Stadium on September 2 when the Monarchs host Virginia Tech. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM.
