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Tennessee football: Deangelo Gibbs to sit out 2020 season

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 31: Deangelo Gibbs #6 and Baylen Buchanan #28 of the Tennessee Volunteers stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter of the season opener against Georgia State Panthers at Neyland Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 31: Deangelo Gibbs #6 and Baylen Buchanan #28 of the Tennessee Volunteers stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter of the season opener against Georgia State Panthers at Neyland Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /
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Despite being eligible, the Tennessee football Volunteers receiver will miss another season.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Deangelo Gibbs, who transferred to Tennessee football from the Georgia Bulldogs last year, will sit out for his second straight season. Gibbs sat out last year due to NCAA eligibility rules as a transfer.

Jeremy Pruitt said Friday that the 6’0″ 200-pound product of Grayson High School from Oxford, Ga. elected to sit out this year to focus on academics, according to a report from Patrick Brown of GoVols247. However, he’s still with the team.

A cousin of former Tennessee football safety Nigel Warrior and high school teammate of Baylen Buchanan, who is also about to miss his second season albeit due to injury on his part, Gibbs played safety in his two years with UGA. Last year, working with Pruitt, he ended up moving back to receiver, which he can definitely play as a once four-star athlete coming out of high school.

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Without Gibbs, UT now has even less competition for the slot receiver spot. Velus Jones Jr., a graduate transfer from the USC Trojans, was the favorite to be there. Nebraska Cornhuskers transfer Miles Jones is currently not listed on the roster, and it would be likely he’d take a transfer redshirt this year anyway.

Beyond that, Pruitt, Tee Martin and Jim Chaney have a group of three freshman four-star receivers to work with. There’s also a chance they just play big with three wideouts when they go to those sets, perhaps using Josh Palmer, Brandon Johnson and Ramel Keyton.

That’s what they mostly did last year with Palmer, Marquez Callaway and Jauan Jennings when Tyler Byrd was more of the slot guy. However, if Velus Jones Jr. emerges in fall camp, the job will be his along with his likely kickoff return duties.

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Because of the NCAA’s decision to freeze eligibility clocks for players last week, Gibbs will be able to return as a redshirt junior for Tennessee football next year. At that point, he could be come the favorite to start in the slot.

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