Tennessee football has lost 25 players to the transfer portal so far this offseason. Few, if any, have hurt more than cornerback Rickey Gibson who announced his intentions to enter the portal last Thursday night shortly before it officially opened.
Gibson has found his new home, committing to Texas A&M football on Thursday morning over interest from a number of SEC schools including Auburn.
The Trussville, Alabama native started at corner across from Jermod McCoy for Tennessee as a true sophomore in 2024. But Gibson suffered an upper-body injury in the Vols’ 2025 season-opener against Syracuse and missed the remainder of the season. A year after McCoy and Gibson made up one of the SEC’s best cornerback tandems, the duo combined to play just 19 snaps in 2026 due to injury.
Gibson totaled 32 tackles and a forced fumble during the 2024 season. Opponents targeted him 39 times, completing 24 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns while Gibson broke up four passes according to PFF. He earned a 74.4 grade in 636 snaps according to PFF.
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Tennessee found Gibson’s replacement Wednesday evening, landing Auburn cornerback Kayin Lee who has two years of starting experience with the Tigers. Opponents targeted Lee 41 times, completing 21 passes for 251 yards and no touchdowns last season.
The 6-foot, 185-pound cornerback will not travel to Neyland Stadium next fall but will face his old team. Tennessee football travels to College Station on Nov. 14 for one of its most difficult games of the 2026 season on paper.
Gibson might not be the only former Tennessee player on the Texas A&M roster. The Aggies are also pursuing former Tennessee offensive tackle Lance Heard. Heard entered the transfer portal after starting at left tackle the last two seasons.
Texas A&M is coming off an 11-2 (7-1 SEC) season that saw them start the year 11-0 before flaming out with a regular-season ending loss against rival Texas and an opening round College Football Playoff loss against Miami.
