University of Georgia Athletics
Photo by: Tony Walsh/UGAAA
Jennings Savors Role As Bulldogs’ ‘Shepherd’
November 22, 2023 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Jonas Jennings is exactly where he needs to be.
On Saturday, when the top-ranked Georgia football team wraps up its regular season at Georgia Tech, Jennings, as he does for every game, will stand, knees bent and long arms extended outward, and slap hands with every Bulldog as the team runs onto the field.
On Monday, Jennings was back in College Park, Ga., at the College View Hills housing project where he grew up — "from when I was born until I came to the University of Georgia," he once said — distributing Thanksgiving turkeys. It was the 20th year that Jennings has given away turkeys to help make the holiday a little bit more special for those in need.
Jennings, all 6-foot-3 and 300-or-so pounds of him, is both built to be a great offensive tackle and to help lift up those around him. He was an All-SEC offensive tackle for Georgia in 2000 and a third-round draft pick in 2001. He played four seasons with the Buffalo Bills, four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, and then called it a career. He then spent years doing work in the community and some volunteer coaching. The millions he made in the NFL, and the wise decisions he made with his money, allowed him to go where he was needed.
In 2015, then-coach Mark Richt brought Jennings back to Athens as a the Bulldogs' Player Relations Coordinator. In 2016, the newly-hired Kirby Smart made him Director of Player Development. In 2017, he was named one of the UGA Alumni Association's 40 Under 40, which recognizes young alumni that are doing big, notable things.
Ask one of Georgia's players about Jennings, and the first thing you'll see is a smile.
"Everybody calls him 'Unc,'" senior defensive lineman Zion Logue said, "and he's that uncle that you see at the cookouts, at the spades table, who's going to talk junk but he's also going to love you hard at the same time. ... He's been a huge help to a lot of people — a lot of people."
Jennings could be off doing a lot of things these days — he's got smarts, charm, and a desire to give his time and energy to a variety of causes and enterprises — but he knows where he's needed.
"The timing was right, the energy was right," Jennings said of accepting Richt's job offer. "It still gave me a chance to not only work, but do a service. God blessed me monetarily; you don't play in the NFL that long, but with that and making great (financial) decisions, it gave me a chance to help lead and be a shepherd."
And the flock appreciates what he does.
"He means a lot, personally, to me," defensive back Javon Bullard said. "He's a guy that's done it, a guy that's paved the way for a lot of people like myself, and he's just a positive role model to look up to. He's a guy that continues to push us, more so off the field than on the field."
The best part of his job, Jennings said, was seeing "all the small victories" that the players achieve in their lives — both during their Georgia careers and after.
Jennings would likely be an excellent offensive line coach somewhere if he wanted to do that. He could be a high-ranking member of an athletic department, if not the person in charge of the whole thing, if that was the path he wanted to follow. Neither path interested him much. He's done his time on the field, grinding through practice day after day. And he admits he's not cut out for the endless meetings that athletics administrators have to navigate each day.
No, Jennings is exactly where he needs to be. And this year has definitely proven that amid the amazing highs and crushing lows the program has experienced. Georgia has won its second straight national championship, and is in good position to go for a third, while also enduring the tragedy of losing offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting staff member Chandler LeCroy in a car accident last January.
"I come from a big family, and this reminds me of that," Jennings said of being part of Georgia's football program. "My grandmama had 16 kids, so you had to learn resilience, how to share, being tough, things of that nature. Any time things get hard, you've got to remember why you're here, and you've got to remember who they look to for strength."
He's the big teddy bear that players naturally gravitate toward. He's the father-figure that some players need in good times and bad. He's the sweet and silly life of the party sometimes, and the let-me-get-really-real truth-teller when he needs to be.
"We love the game, and we're going to get pushed on the field, and we embrace that, but sometimes it's hard to keep focused off the field. And he's that voice that you need sometimes in your corner," Bullard said.
"I love him, man, and I appreciate him for all he's done for us. I'm not going to lie, he can be hard if you need him to be hard; he can get on you, but the majority of the time, you know it's all out of love at the end of the day. Hear the message and not the tone sometimes."
When you sign with Georgia, Smart and the coaches are going to work tirelessly to make you the best Bulldog you can be. When you sign with Georgia, Jennings and his player development staff are going to work tirelessly to help you be the best person, player and citizen you can be.
"He's going to make sure he prepares you for everything," Logue said, "for every step in life."
Staff Writer
Jonas Jennings is exactly where he needs to be.
On Saturday, when the top-ranked Georgia football team wraps up its regular season at Georgia Tech, Jennings, as he does for every game, will stand, knees bent and long arms extended outward, and slap hands with every Bulldog as the team runs onto the field.
On Monday, Jennings was back in College Park, Ga., at the College View Hills housing project where he grew up — "from when I was born until I came to the University of Georgia," he once said — distributing Thanksgiving turkeys. It was the 20th year that Jennings has given away turkeys to help make the holiday a little bit more special for those in need.
Jennings, all 6-foot-3 and 300-or-so pounds of him, is both built to be a great offensive tackle and to help lift up those around him. He was an All-SEC offensive tackle for Georgia in 2000 and a third-round draft pick in 2001. He played four seasons with the Buffalo Bills, four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, and then called it a career. He then spent years doing work in the community and some volunteer coaching. The millions he made in the NFL, and the wise decisions he made with his money, allowed him to go where he was needed.
In 2015, then-coach Mark Richt brought Jennings back to Athens as a the Bulldogs' Player Relations Coordinator. In 2016, the newly-hired Kirby Smart made him Director of Player Development. In 2017, he was named one of the UGA Alumni Association's 40 Under 40, which recognizes young alumni that are doing big, notable things.
Ask one of Georgia's players about Jennings, and the first thing you'll see is a smile.
"Everybody calls him 'Unc,'" senior defensive lineman Zion Logue said, "and he's that uncle that you see at the cookouts, at the spades table, who's going to talk junk but he's also going to love you hard at the same time. ... He's been a huge help to a lot of people — a lot of people."
Jennings could be off doing a lot of things these days — he's got smarts, charm, and a desire to give his time and energy to a variety of causes and enterprises — but he knows where he's needed.
"The timing was right, the energy was right," Jennings said of accepting Richt's job offer. "It still gave me a chance to not only work, but do a service. God blessed me monetarily; you don't play in the NFL that long, but with that and making great (financial) decisions, it gave me a chance to help lead and be a shepherd."
And the flock appreciates what he does.
"He means a lot, personally, to me," defensive back Javon Bullard said. "He's a guy that's done it, a guy that's paved the way for a lot of people like myself, and he's just a positive role model to look up to. He's a guy that continues to push us, more so off the field than on the field."
The best part of his job, Jennings said, was seeing "all the small victories" that the players achieve in their lives — both during their Georgia careers and after.
Jennings would likely be an excellent offensive line coach somewhere if he wanted to do that. He could be a high-ranking member of an athletic department, if not the person in charge of the whole thing, if that was the path he wanted to follow. Neither path interested him much. He's done his time on the field, grinding through practice day after day. And he admits he's not cut out for the endless meetings that athletics administrators have to navigate each day.
No, Jennings is exactly where he needs to be. And this year has definitely proven that amid the amazing highs and crushing lows the program has experienced. Georgia has won its second straight national championship, and is in good position to go for a third, while also enduring the tragedy of losing offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting staff member Chandler LeCroy in a car accident last January.
"I come from a big family, and this reminds me of that," Jennings said of being part of Georgia's football program. "My grandmama had 16 kids, so you had to learn resilience, how to share, being tough, things of that nature. Any time things get hard, you've got to remember why you're here, and you've got to remember who they look to for strength."
He's the big teddy bear that players naturally gravitate toward. He's the father-figure that some players need in good times and bad. He's the sweet and silly life of the party sometimes, and the let-me-get-really-real truth-teller when he needs to be.
"We love the game, and we're going to get pushed on the field, and we embrace that, but sometimes it's hard to keep focused off the field. And he's that voice that you need sometimes in your corner," Bullard said.
"I love him, man, and I appreciate him for all he's done for us. I'm not going to lie, he can be hard if you need him to be hard; he can get on you, but the majority of the time, you know it's all out of love at the end of the day. Hear the message and not the tone sometimes."
When you sign with Georgia, Smart and the coaches are going to work tirelessly to make you the best Bulldog you can be. When you sign with Georgia, Jennings and his player development staff are going to work tirelessly to help you be the best person, player and citizen you can be.
"He's going to make sure he prepares you for everything," Logue said, "for every step in life."
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
Georgia Football 2026 GDay Spring Game - Postgame Player Sound
Saturday, April 18
Georgia Football 2026 G-Day TV Highlights
Saturday, April 18
2026 GDay Spring Game - Coach Smart Press Conference
Saturday, April 18
Georgia Football - Coach Smart Spring Practice Press Conference
Tuesday, April 07