The Tennessee Vols didn’t want to lose cornerback Rickey Gibson III to the transfer portal this offseason.

Gibson, who missed almost the entire 2025 season after suffering an injury in Tennessee’s season-opening win over Syracuse, is set to transfer after spending the first three seasons of his career with the Vols.

“Tennessee has lost a lot of guys that they didn’t necessarily want to,” said CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer last week.

“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.”

So if the Vols didn’t want to lose Gibson, why is he transferring?

Vols insider details why Rickey Gibson III is entering the portal

VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs joined WNML’s SportsTalk on Tuesday and he shared some insight on why Gibson is transferring.

Hubbs suggested that the recent defensive staff changes at Tennessee made a big impact on Gibson’s decision.

“I didn’t think Rickey Gibson was going to go in the portal,” said Hubbs. “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.”

Auburn and Texas A&M are two programs in the mix early for Gibson.

Tennessee, meanwhile, is targeting Troy transfer cornerback Jaquez White.

White, who recently took a visit to Tennessee, is expected to make a decision in the coming days.

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