The San Francisco 49ers scored the first touchdown of Super Bowl 58 on a nifty trick play that featured wide receiver Jauan Jennings throwing a pass to running back Christian McCaffrey for the score.
However, it sure looked like 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan took some inspiration from Jennings’ days at Tennessee.
The SEC’s Twitter (X) account shared an old play from Jennings’ days as a Tennessee Volunteer in which he nailed a very similar version of that play for a touchdown to quarterback Josh Dobbs. Talk about a … throwback!
San Francisco fans will remember this play for a long time regardless of the outcome, and it certainly looks like the 49ers owe a little bit to Tennessee for the idea.
Check out how these plays mirror each other below.
TRICK PLAY FOR SIX 🚨
👤 Jauan Jennings • @Vol_Football
📺: #SBLVIII on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/X8VIPnf5Wc— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) February 12, 2024
Well, that certainly looked familiar. 👀@Vol_Football x #SuperBowlLVIII https://t.co/ddp0o35mhT pic.twitter.com/JXxnuAYXVM
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) February 12, 2024
Shanahan is one of the game’s brightest minds, and it’s really neat that he was able to pull this play from Jennings’ past and run a really similar version of it to success during a Super Bowl.
It was the only touchdown for either team in the Super Bowl’s first half, making this an even cooler moment to look back on.