Seahawks pick coached in hoops by Wilson as kid
RENTON, Wash. — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson already has a connection with his newest wide receiver — fourth-round pick Gary Jennings from West Virginia.
Wilson once coached Jennings in basketball.
That was over a decade ago in Richmond, Virginia, where the two attended Collegiate prep school.
“I went to Collegiate K through 8, and he was in high school at the time,” Jennings recalled Saturday during a conference call after being chosen 120th overall by the Seahawks. “It was a K-through-12 school. Growing up in that school, I used to see him play quarterback. He was an amazing quarterback back in the day. I saw him run back and forth across the field, and someone was always wide open. They basically won state every year he was there.”
Jennings was in fourth grade, he estimated, when he played on a youth basketball team with Wilson’s younger sister Anna, who now plays at Stanford. In a tweet congratulating Jennings, Wilson referenced coaching the team along with his father.
God is good!! https://t.co/T9Qukhcdtr
“He was a scrapper,” Jennings said of Wilson. “I was young at the time. He was a great basketball coach.
“It was YMCA, so I don’t know if it was that competitive. We couldn’t even press, I don’t think. It was cool because he was a star player at the school, and he had a chance to be able to coach.”
Jennings attended a different high school and then went to West Virginia, where he played four seasons and started his final two. He scored 13 touchdowns as a senior despite dealing with an ankle injury.
He’s the second receiver to be selected in this draft by the Seahawks, following second-rounder DK Metcalf, as the team reinforces the position with Doug Baldwin‘s future in serious question.
The 6-foot-1, 216-pound Jennings ran a 4.42 40 at the scouting combine.
“Gary is competitive, physical and driven,” Seahawks receivers coach Nate Carroll said, via the team. “He is a high-effort guy. This kid wants to learn and will fit in great with the wide receiver room. He and D.K. will push each other to learn and make each other better.”
Jennings said he played outside receiver during his first two seasons at West Virginia, and then he mostly operated out of the slot for his final two.
Baldwin has been Seattle’s primary slot receiver.
“I have great hands, I have great speed and I’m a playmaker,” Jennings said. “When a play needs to be made at the end of the game or in crucial situations, I’m the go-to guy.”
Jennings described his new quarterback/old coach similarly, calling Wilson a “great playmaker.”
“It was a feeling like no other,” Jennings said of getting the call from the Seahawks. “For it to be Seattle as well, it’s a perfect fit for me, for the system and what they do as an offense.”