Pruitt: Deangelo Gibbs will redshirt, sit out 2019

Tennessee has been waiting on eligibility rulings on a couple of key transfers for the 2019 season. To open fall camp today, Jeremy Pruitt delivered his plan for one of those players.

Deangelo Gibbs, a transfer from Georgia, will redshirt and sit out the 2019 season. Pruitt noted that it’s tough to get an eligibility waiver when a player transfers within the conference.

“We probably have a good idea about Deangelo,” Pruitt said. “He’s going to redshirt and sit out this year. I think moving within the SEC, you just don’t transfer from one SEC school to the other without being a grad-transfer. Deangelo knew that when he came here, and he came here, because he believed in the coaching staff and his future development in the game of football.”

Gibbs is a former four-star recruit who played safety in Athens over the last two seasons. He joined Tennessee ahead of spring practice, taking part in both offensive and defensive drills. Pruitt noted that finding the right position for him will be key for next season.

“The key for him is what side of the ball is he going to play on,” Pruitt said. “The guy can play either side of the ball, but it’s important for us, for the next nine months, to make sure that he’s in the right position.”

Pruitt said that he had not heard anything on the status of Aubrey Solomon, who transferred to Tennessee from Michigan last season after appearing in just two games for the Wolverines in 2018.

“It could be tomorrow, it could be two weeks from now,” Pruitt said of Solomon.

Tennessee opens fall camp tomorrow, four weeks ahead of their first game of the 2019 season against the Georgia State Panthers.