The Seahawks picked West Virginia receiver Gary Jennings in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, the second receiver Seattle has drafted this week along with Mississippi's D.K. Metcalf, a second-round pick.
And in a strange twist of fate, Jennings will catch passes in the NFL from a quarterback who once coached his YMCA basketball team.
When Russell Wilson was a star athlete at Collegiate School in Richmond, Virginia, he helped his father coach a YMCA basketball team, and one of the grade-school age players on that team was a young Gary Jennings. Fast forward more than a decade when Jennings heard his name called in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, and he'll come to Seattle to be teammates with Wilson, whose younger sister Anna—now a guard at Stanford—also played in the same youth basketball program.
"I went to Collegiate K-8, and he was in high school at the time," Jennings said on a conference call. "It was a K-12 school. Growing up in that school, I used to see him play quarterback. He was an amazing quarterback back in the day, too. I saw him run back and forth across the field, and someone was always wide open. They won state basically every year he was there. I also played youth basketball with his sister as well, Anna Wilson."
Jennings, who is 6-foot-1, 216 pounds, ranks sixth in Mountaineers history with 2,294 career receiving yards and seventh with 168 receptions. Last season he had 54 catches for 917 yards and 13 touchdowns. As a junior, Jennings had 97 catches for 1,096 receiving yards and earned second-team All-Big 12 honors. Jennings also served as West Virginia's punt returner as a freshman and sophomore.
With the No. 120 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft the Seattle Seahawks selected Gary Jennings, a wide receiver out of West Virginia.
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings (12) celebrates after catching a short pass for a first down late in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Kansas State, Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017, in Manhattan, Kan. West Virginia won 28-23. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings runs a passing drill during the 2019 Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Saturday, March. 2, 2019. (Perry Knotts via AP)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings runs the 40-yard dash during the NFL football scouting combine, Saturday, March 2, 2019, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr. (12) is tackled by Oklahoma safety Delarrin Turner-Yell (32) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Nov. 24, 2018, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)
South wide receiver Gary Jennings, of West Virginia, celebrates after a touchdown during the second half of the Senior Bowl college football game, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019, in Mobile, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings runs a drill during the NFL football scouting combine, Saturday, March 2, 2019, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr. (12) jumps over TCU linebacker Arico Evans (7) to score a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)
West Virginia receiver Gary Jennings (12) and Marcus Simms (8) celebrate Jenning's touchdown catch during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Texas, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, in Austin, Texas. West Virginia won 42-41. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings (12) during the first half/ second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)
West Virginia's Gary Jennings Jr. (12) warms up before an NCAA college football game against Tennessee in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr. (12) Is forced out of bounds by Oklahoma linebacker Curtis Bolton (18) and defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles (44) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Nov. 23, 2018, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr. (12) is tackled by Iowa State defensive back D'Andre Payne (1) after making a reception during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings (12) is tackled by Kansas safety Mike Lee (11) after completing a pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, in Lawrence, Kan. West Virginia won 56-34. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings celebrates his touchdown in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Virginia Tech in Landover, Md., Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings (12) during the first half/ second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)
FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2018, file photo, West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr. (12) celebrates a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Youngstown State in Morgantown, W.Va. Rested quarterback Will Grier and West Virginia receivers faces Kansas State’s pass defense this week. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson, File)
West Virginia's Gary Jennings (12) celebrates after a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Texas Tech, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Brad Tollefson)
FILE - In this Sept. 16, 2017 file photo West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings (12) catches a touchdown pass as Delaware State defensive back Keyjuan Selby (20) defends during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Morgantown, W.Va. Jennings had a prolific 2017 season between the end zones for West Virginia but little scoring to show for it. Jennings figures his touchdown chances will improve a year after he scored just once despite 97 receptions that ranked him fourth in the Bowl Subdivision. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson, file)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings (12) avoids Iowa State's D'Andre Payne (1) during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa State in Morgantown, W.Va., Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Walter Scriptunas II)
After making a catch West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings (12) runs for a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)
West Virginia wide receiver Gary Jennings, left, scores a touchdown in front of Virginia Tech defensive back Mook Reynolds in the second half of an NCAA college football game in Landover, Md., Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
