It’s game week and Tennessee still has no idea if Aubrey Solomon will be eligible or not

Tennessee is set to open their 2019 season on Saturday afternoon against Georgia State — and we still don’t know if Aubrey Solomon will be able to play or not. The former star recruit announced that he was transferring to Tennessee in December of 2018, yet here we sit — in August — still without an answer.

“Hadn’t heard anything yet,” Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt told the media on Monday. “We’re going to continue to practice like he’s going to play. All of our guys take a lot of reps in practice and we’re going to continue to do that.”

Tennessee’s first depth chart included Solomon as one of ten co-starters on the defensive line. After the season-ending injury to senior defensive tackle Emmit Gooden, the Volunteers could use the depth and experience that Solomon brings to the table.

Solomon is the latest of a few Michigan transfers to have difficulty gaining eligibility. Offensive lineman James Hudson was denied immediate eligibility at Cincinnati, while cornerback Myles Sims was denied immediate eligibility at Georgia Tech. Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell suggested that Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh didn’t do enough to help Hudson earn eligibility at his program.

Two more Michigan transfers — Solomon and Oliver Martin at Iowa — are still waiting to hear if they can play this season.

It isn’t difficult to see the pattern that has developed here.

Jeremy Pruitt wasn’t interested with starting a war of words with Harbaugh last week. He’s remained patient, but did offer his thoughts on the situation.

“I don’t know exactly what the previous institution has done,” Pruitt said last week. “I know what we have done. I know what we have done for young men who have left our program. I’m not sure that is the same across the country. I don’t know. I can’t say one way or the other.”

Solomon was a five-star prospect in the class of 2017, ranked as the 23rd best player in the class overall. He was the second ranked defensive tackle prospect in the class.

At Michigan, Solomon appeared in eight games as a true freshman. He totaled 16 tackles, grabbing two for loss. His sophomore season was cut short due to injury with Solomon only appearing in two games for the Wolverines.