Cornerback Rickey Gibson transferred from Tennessee to Texas A&M earlier this year.
The expectation at the end of the 2025 season was that cornerback Rickey Gibson would return to Tennessee for his senior season.
Gibson, however, surprisingly entered the NCAA transfer portal and eventually landed at Texas A&M.
"I didn't think Rickey Gibson was going to go in the portal," said VolQuest's Brent Hubbs last January . "I thought that one was worked out. And I thought he was good to go to come back to Tennessee. I think when a couple of coaching changes happened in the back end - with Willie Martinez and Earnest Thomas III not coming back, I think that probably prompted that for him to move on. And obviously, he toyed with moving on a year ago on a couple of different occasions. So that one surprised me. I thought he would be back."
CBS Sports' Chris Hummer hinted that "contract negotiations" were also part of why Tennessee didn't retain Gibson.
"Some of them they wanted to lose, some were contract negotiations. Rickey Gibson isn't someone they wanted to lose. Tennessee has been making some tough decisions."
Had Gibson returned to Tennessee for the 2026 season, he likely would've been penciled in as a starter (Tennessee ended up landing Auburn transfer Kayin Lee to replace Gibson….some folks feel like Lee was an upgrade for the Vols ).
It's unclear exactly how much Texas A&M is paying Gibson, but it's safe to say he's getting starting SEC cornerback type money.
That's why Vols fans may be surprised to learn that Gibson didn't start the Aggies' opener against Missouri State.
The feeling going into the offseason was that Gibson and Dezz Ricks would serve as Texas A&M's starting cornerbacks. Julio Humphrey, though, had a great fall camp and locked down one of the starting cornerback roles.
As a result, Ricks and Gibson were listed as co-starters on the depth chart .
And it was Ricks who got the start against Missouri State.
Gibson played 18 snaps as the Aggies' second and third team defense got plenty of work. But interestingly, Gibson played behind Humphrey (that seems to suggest that Gibson is firmly a second-team option right now).
Gibson is clearly going to play a lot for Texas A&M this fall, and he could emerge as a top option by the end of the season. But it's still a bit of a surprise that he left a guaranteed starting role at Tennessee for what turned out to not be a starting role at Texas A&M (at least for now).
Ultimately, though, it could be a great thing for Tennessee as Kayin Lee is proving to be a great option for the Volunteers.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Latest development at Texas A&M for former Tennessee cornerback Rickey Gibson will come as a surprise to Vols fans
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