Starting Tennessee CB has change of heart and is with Vols for spring ball

Day 1 of spring football is here for the Tennessee football team and some fantastic news has come in for head man Josh Heupel. Not long ago, a stunning update came in that Heupel and defensive coordinator Tim Banks were going to lose a key playmaker.

Yup, starting cornerback Rickey Gibson was planning to enter the transfer portal out of nowhere, which was going to be a sizeable loss for the defensive side of the ball. However, it looks like that's not going to happen. Gibson was reportedly out on the field with the Vols to open up spring camp, which is major for Heupel and his staff:

Tennessee starting CB Rickey Gibson is with the team for spring ball

Late last month, plenty of people indeed were shocked when the Gibson news came in. Thankfully, though, things have been resolved and he'll be making plays for the Vols in 2025. Last season, Gibson started in 12 games, posting 32 total tackles and five pass deflections.

The Vols are already hurting a bit at cornerback, as All-SEC CB Jermod McCoy is out for spring ball after suffering a torn ACL this winter. McCoy was training back at home in Texas when he unfortunately suffered the serious knee injury. His status for the start of the season is totally up in the air.

While McCoy is working to get himself back to full health, Gibson is in Knoxville focused on helping the secondary improve during spring ball. Then once fall camp gets here, Gibson will need to be a vocal leader with McCoy not expected to be ready to rock by August.

There are plenty of questions that need to be answered for the Vols throughout the spring sessions. Thankfully, however, one of those questions won't be who will fill in for Gibson with him leaving town. Instead, he'll be ready to turn heads and mentor some of the younger guys in the locker room.