Tag: deangelo gibbs

Deangelo Gibbs will not play for Tennessee in 2020

Deangelo Gibbs will not play for Tennessee in 2020.

KNOXVILLE — Third-year Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt met with media Friday.

Pruitt announced that redshirt junior wide receiver Deangelo Gibbs will not play for the Vols in 2020. Pruitt said Gibbs will focus on academics this fall and will remain around the team.

Gibbs transferred to Tennessee in January 2019 from Georgia. He has seen time at both defensive back and wide receiver during practices while at UT.

Gibbs lettered at Georgia in 2017 and 2018. He recorded 10 tackles in 13 games as a defensive back for the Bulldogs.

Oct 27, 2018; Jacksonville, FL, USA;Georgia Bulldogs defensive back DeAngelo Gibbs (8) works out prior to the game at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

2020 Tennessee football schedule

9/26 at South Carolina
10/3 vs. Missouri
10/10 at Georgia
10/17 vs. Kentucky
10/24 vs. Alabama
10/31 OPEN DATE
11/7 at Arkansas
11/14 vs Texas A&M
11/21 at Auburn
11/28 at Vanderbilt
12/5 vs. Florida

2020 UT football player card: Deangelo Gibbs

2020 UT football player card: Deangelo Gibbs

Deangelo Gibbs, Wide receiver (No. 6)

Class: Redshirt junior

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 200 pounds

Hometown: Oxford, Georgia

High School: Grayson

Gibbs transferred to Tennessee in January 2019 from Georgia. He has seen time at both defensive back and wide receiver during practices while at UT.

Gibbs lettered at Georgia in 2017 and 2018. He recorded 10 tackles in 13 games as a defensive back for the Bulldogs.

2020 Tennessee football schedule

  • Sept. 5 vs. Charlotte (Knoxville)
  • Sept. 12 at Oklahoma (Norman)
  • Sept. 19 vs. Furman (Knoxville)
  • Sept. 26 vs. Florida (Knoxville)
  • Oct. 3 vs. Missouri (Knoxville)
  • Oct. 10 at South Carolina (Columbia)
  • Oct. 17 OPEN DATE
  • Oct. 24 vs. Alabama (Knoxville)
  • Oct. 31 at Arkansas (Fayetteville)
  • Nov. 7 vs. Kentucky (Knoxville)
  • Nov. 14 at Georgia (Athens)
  • Nov. 21 vs. Troy (Knoxville)
  • Nov. 28 at Vanderbilt (Nashville)

Vols’ roster showcases Jeremy Pruitt’s ability ‘to think outside the box, win football games’

2020 Tennessee football.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee capped off its 2020 recruiting class Feb. 5 on National Signing Day.

The Vols will take to the practice field March 9 to kickoff spring practices in preparation for the 2020 season.

Tennessee added two players on National Signing Day, including Dee Beckwith from Florence High School in Florence, Ala.

On National Signing Day, Beckwith’s high school head coach Will Hester discussed Tennessee’s latest signee and the type of player he is.

“I can see him being used a lot like Jauan Jennings or Taysom Hill with the New Orleans Saints, meaning some wide receiver, some at Wildcat quarterback and some jet sweep-type stuff,” Hester said of Beckwith.

Hester joined the show “Tennessee Two-A-Days” that is co-hosted by Rush Propst on Feb. 8 to further discuss Beckwith signing with Tennessee and the type of player he is.

“Having coached in Tennessee and coached against Jauan Jennings, Dee is a very similar player to Jauan,” Hester said of Beckwith. “He started out as a basketball player and was playing high-level AAU when we got to Florence two years ago.

“He is an unbelievable athlete and probably the most athletic kid that I have been around. What he brings to Tennessee, he is going to be in the receiver room with all of those other guys and do the things that it takes to be successful, whether they move him around anywhere. Coach (Jim) Chaney is talking about Taysom Hill type stuff, whether they hand it to him, throw it to him or be the Wildcat quarterback. Dee is a humble kid and really hated the recruiting process, hated having to talk on the phone, text messages and all of that kind of stuff. He really just wanted to sign and get it over with and move on. He just had to figure out which spot was best for him.”

Propst discussed the importance of having Wildcat and short-yardage packages and practicing it everyday in preparation for when it s needed during a game.

“Everyday there were two things that I did in practice,” Propst said. “I would have a short-yardage package with more of an athlete under center — sort of an unbalanced set with a wingback and a fullback — and then a wide receiver, a great wide receiver. Our short-yardage package, we were 99 percent effective in short-yardage and red zone attack. We spent ten minutes a day in that offense starting in the spring and then the Wildcat we would do the exact same thing.

“So 20 minutes a day, everyday, and it probably drops to ten minutes, both packages, on certain days, if your quarterback was that good, that we would spend on that offense.”

A situational-type player in Beckwith, who is set to arrive at Tennessee, is someone Pruitt understands the importance in having to win games.

Pruitt’s understanding of having situational-type players and also cross-training student-athletes at different positions, on offense and defense, dates back to his time as a high school coach.

“If you want to win football games, you have to think outside the box,” Hester said. “It goes back to his (Pruitt) high school experience and how to be a coach at Fort Payne or how to be a coach wherever, and you only have what you have – and create what you have. That is why he has done so well with a limited roster because he is not afraid to ask whoever to play whatever position and to do whatever that makes the team better.”

Deangelo Gibbs
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

The Vols now have a deep wide receiver unit heading into Pruitt’s third season. Players such as Georgia transfer Deangelo Gibbs, who has cross-trained on offense and defense, is a student-athlete who can help his team, like Beckwith, in playing a position and role that will help Tennessee.

“He is a true coach,” Propst said of Pruitt cross-training players such as Gibbs on defense with a wide receiver unit full of depth. “Here is the difference with Jeremy. A lot of these guys are system guys and they are compartmentalized so bad. Jeremy has had to do different things in his career, coaching offense, defense – had to do this, had to do that and handle this situation, that situation.”

The entire interview with Hester and Propst can be listened to here or below.

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A way-too-early preview of Tennessee’s wide receivers in 2020

A way-too-early preview of Tennessee’s wide receivers in 2020.

KNOXVILLE — Wide receiver was a position of strength for Tennessee in 2020.

With two talented and experienced seniors in Marquez Callaway and Jauan Jennings, the Vols lost over 1,600 yards and 14 touchdowns of production from those two players alone.

Jennings was considered the heart and soul of Tennessee’s football team, as an unquestioned leader that evolved into one of the most exciting players to watch in the SEC with the ball in his hands.

Now, it’s a new era for Tennessee’s wideouts, and role players in 2019 will need to step up to become go-to options in 2020.

It begins with rising senior Josh Palmer, who is Tennessee’s lead returning receiver in 2020. Palmer showed flashes during his junior campaign, playing third-fiddle to Callaway and Jennings. The Canadian native reeled in 34 passes for 457 yards and 1 touchdown.

While no other receiver returns that has the numbers of Palmer, there is talented but unproven depth in wide receivers coach Tee Martin’s unit. Former four-star prospect Ramel Keyton only caught four passes in his freshman season, but two came in the Gator Bowl win over Indiana to total 60 yards. In fact, Tennessee was able to get a slight preview of what’s to come in the bowl game as Palmer and Keyton led the Vols in receiving. Palmer caught six passes for 68 yards.

Among some of the unknown quantities in Tennessee’s wide receivers room is a former defensive back in Deangelo Gibbs. Having never played wide receiver at the collegiate level, Gibbs initially went to Georgia as a highly-touted defensive back and transferred to Tennessee in the offseason before the 2019 campaign.

Gibbs had to sit out the season due to transfer ineligibility rules, but will be available as a wide receiver in 2020. Since taking over at Tennessee, Jeremy Pruitt has not been afraid to switch players from different positions, and it is clear he and his staff believe the 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior has the talent and ball skills to contribute to the Vols at wide receiver in 2020.

Even with the possible NFL talent Tennessee had in Callaway and Jennings in 2019, one thing this unit has missed is a player with pure, straight-line speed that can take the top off of SEC defenses.

Tennessee took a step to remedy that in early January, bringing in former USC wideout Velus Jones Jr. as a graduate transfer.

Jones was recruited by Tennessee out of high school, and played for Tee Martin when Martin was coaching wide receivers at USC. Although he did not consistently crack the wide receiver rotation in Southern Cal, Jones racked up nearly 2,000 kick return yards and will be certainly utilized in Knoxville as he plays out his final season of eligibility.

Speaking of speed, another player that excites Tennessee’s coaching staff is incoming four-star prospect Jalin Hyatt out of South Carolina. Hyatt helped his Dutch Fork High School team to a state championship in 2019, hauling in 66 passes for 1,361 yards and 26 touchdowns. Expect Hyatt to contribute for Tennessee in 2020, along with four-star Georgia prospect Jimmy Calloway, who joins Hyatt in the 2020 class as a versatile, athletic option.

Also returning for Tennessee in 2020 is Brandon Johnson, who redshirted his junior season for the Vols after only appearing in four games. Many forget Johnson led Tennessee in receiving during the Vols’ abysmal 2017 4-8 campaign under Butch Jones, catching 37 passes for 482 yards and one touchdown.

The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native will return as an experienced key cog in the 2020 wide receiver rotation.

Finally, 6-foot-3, 211-pound wideout Cedric Tillman returns to Knoxville for his redshirt sophomore season and will compete for more reps after being buried under the depth chart in 2020.

Tennessee’s wide receivers will have a completely new look in Jeremy Pruitt’s third season. 2019 saw a top-heavy unit that had experienced, big bodies who could high-point the football and shed tacklers. In 2020, the Vols appear to have a deeper, albeit inexperienced rotation with more contributors and pure speed.

It will be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Jim Chaney tinkers with this new crop of players, but the primary question is not who will catch the most passes for Tennessee in 2020, but who will be throwing the ball?

As the Vols prepare for spring football, figuring out this team’s starting quarterback will have a direct impact on the success of the wide receiver position.

It will not be a question of talent for Tennessee’s wide receivers in 2020. This group will need to gain experience and find out a true number one option to replace the outgoing Callaway and Jennings.