It is not too often you see one school welcome a transfer player from another program within the same conference, and even more rare to see it within the same division. Tennessee did just that with the addition of Deangelo Gibbs on Monday.
Gibbs, a Georgia native, was officially added to the Tennessee program on Monday, the school announced, after spending the last two years at SEC East counterpart Georgia. Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt noted his knowledge and relationship with Gibbs dates back to recruiting him out of high school when Pruitt was a defensive coordinator at Georgia and later a defensive coordinator at Alabama.
“Deangelo is a guy that I knew, and our staff knew in recruiting when he was coming out of high school,” Pruitt said in a released statement. “He’s a guy that can play on either side of the ball. He’s very tough and has unique ball skills. He’s a very instinctive player, and he has size and speed. We are happy to have him at Tennessee.”
Gibbs played defensive back for Georgia, appearing in 13 games over the last two years. Pruitt noted the ability Gibbs has to play on either side of the football. It is unconfirmed which role Gibbs will have for Tennessee primarily or if utilizing his skills in multiple ways will be the plan.
Gibbs will have to wait until 2020 to get back on the field, however. NCAA transfer rules require Gibbs to sit out the 2019 season before being ruled eligible to play once again in 2020 as he is transferring from one FBS program to another.
