Tennessee football: 5 big storylines for Vols heading into 2019 fall camp

3. What is the eligibility status of transfers?

Tennessee football has two transfers on its roster for this year, Deangelo Gibbs and Aubrey Solomon. And there was initially a chance that both of them could fill starting roles when the season kicks off in less than a month.

However, as we were pushing out this post, Jeremy Pruitt spoked about Gibbs, a safety, taking a redshirt this year and sitting out until next year. That does at least build up depth in the secondary for the future, but it could leave things open this year.

After all, there is one safety spot open, and the Georgia Bulldogs transfer could have taken it, even if Trevon Flowers remains the favorite. So Gibbs sitting out could be a slight blow to the Vols if things don’t work out at that spot.

The big name of the two, though, is Aubrey Solomon. Once a five-star commitment at defensive tackle to the Michigan Wolverines, Solomon transferred to the Vols earlier this year. He played limited snaps in Ann Arbor but clearly has a ton of potential at 6’5″ 299 pounds.

If Solomon is given the green light to play rather than sit out a year, the Vols all of a sudden have a much better chance of offsetting their losses at defensive line. After all, Emmit Gooden is one guy, Savion Williams is a four-star junior college transfer, Darel Middleton is another transfer from Last Chance U, and then there is Solomon. All of them have some experience, so it opens up options.