It’s official. Deangelo Gibbs is a Vol.
It was reported last night that Georgia defensive back Deangelo Gibbs was expected to transfer from UGA to Tennessee. And on Friday, he made it official by announcing his decision to come to UT. Gibbs thanked the fans at Georgia, his former teammates, and UGA’s coaches before saying he is “excited” and looks forward “to the path that has led me to my present destination.” He continues, saying that he was “flooded with all the wonderful memories of all the time I’ve spent here” as soon as he set foot on UT’s campus.
— Deangelo Gibbs (@TheHercules8) January 18, 2019
— Deangelo Gibbs (@TheHercules8) January 18, 2019
Shortly after his series of tweets, the official Tennessee football Twitter account welcomed in Gibbs:
Welcome to #RockyTop, @TheHercules8! #PoweredByTheT pic.twitter.com/vKV8vlR2Ew
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) January 18, 2019
Coming out of high school, Gibbs was rated as a four-star and was ranked as the No. 49 overall player and No. 4 safety in the 2017 class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound athlete played for Grayson High School, the same high school current five-star Tennessee signee and offensive tackle Wanya Morris played at this past season.
Tennessee recruited Gibbs while he was in high school. The Vols’ previous coaching staff hosted him twice on unofficial visits in the fall of 2016, and he unofficially visited UT twice at the beginning of 2016 as well. But he ultimately signed with Georgia and enrolled early at UGA.
Though Gibbs was used as a defensive back for the Bulldogs, it’s expected he’ll get a shot at wide receiver for the Vols once he’s on the roster. But that is still to be determined.
In two seasons with Georgia, Gibbs appeared in 13 total games, totaling 10 tackles. Gibbs never quite lived up to his billing as a defender at Georgia, and part of that had to do with off-field issues.
Gibbs was away from Georgia’s program due to a “medical issue” when the Bulldogs were preparing for their College Football Playoff run. He didn’t travel with the team when they played Georgia Tech, nor was he with the team when they faced Auburn in the SEC Championship Game last season.
This year, Gibbs wasn’t with Georgia as they prepared for their bowl game against Texas, and he wasn’t enrolled at UGA to start the spring semester either. Gibbs put his name in the NCAA transfer database just over a week ago.
It’s expected Gibbs will have to sit out a year per NCAA transfer rules, redshirt this season, and won’t be eligible till the 2020 season. It’s still to be determined if he’ll be counted towards Tennessee’s total number of players in the 2019 cycle or the 2020 cycle, but it’s likely he’ll have to be counted toward the Vols’ current 2019 numbers.
Assuming Gibbs will play wide receiver, he could be a big part of Tennessee’s offense in 2020. The Vols will lose Jauan Jennings, Marquez Callaway, Tyler Byrd, and Brandon Johnson after the 2019 season due to graduation. And there are a few other receivers who could elect to go pro early or transfer after the season, such as rising juniors Josh Palmer and Jordan Murphy.
