How Deangelo Gibbs landed with South Carolina football after stops at Georgia, Tennessee

COLUMBIA — When South Carolina football added transfer defensive back Deangelo Gibbs to its 2023 roster, the name might have sounded familiar to SEC fans. However, before entering the transfer portal and enrolling with the Gamecocks, Gibbs had not played in nearly four years.

Gibbs was a four-star prospect ranked in the top 50 coming out Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. He fielded offers from 32 colleges including South Carolina, and signed with Georgia in 2017. He played two seasons for the Bulldogs but struggled to live up to the recruiting hype, recording 10 total tackles in 13 appearances.

Gibbs transferred to Tennessee in 2019 to play for former coach Jeremy Pruitt. He redshirted his first season and opted out of the following season to "focus on his academics." Pruitt was fired shortly after the 2020 season following an in-house investigation by the university that found multiple Level I recruiting violations by the coaching staff.

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"After my redshirt year at Tennessee, as you know, COVID hit. There had been things going on, a lot questions that were unanswered, so I decided to opt out," Gibbs said. "I was still working with the team, practicing, but there were a lot of things going on at the university at the time, so I decided just to back away from that because I didn't want my name and image to be affected ... and now I'm here."

How South Carolina rediscovered Gibbs

After leaving Tennessee, Gibbs found himself rudderless in a world that had always centered on athletics. He said he briefly enrolled at a small university in Florida hoping to play there but it ultimately "didn't work out," and he began preparing for a life and career after football. As a last-ditch effort, he entered the transfer portal after the 2022 season, and that's when South Carolina called.

"Thoughts of not being able to get back on the field, it definitely did come into my mind," Gibbs said. "I came from great universities where they have the potential to send guys off to the NFL, and that was always my goal when I was in high school, but things didn't go that way ... Once I got the call to visit (South Carolina), I couldn't deny that opportunity. I didn't know what I was going to be doing with my life, whether I was going to be playing ball or in the workforce but now that I'm here, I'm taking full advantage of this opportunity."

Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer was familiar with Gibbs. He was special teams coordinator and tight ends coach at Georgia during Gibbs' freshman season in 2017. Beamer heavily recruited Gibbs, but it was Derek Moore who made the connection at South Carolina. Moore, the executive director of character and player development for the Gamecocks, built a long-standing a relationship with Gibbs and his family during his 21 years working with Georgia Tech football

"We kind of lost track of him a little bit after he went to Tennessee ... D-Mo actually mentioned Deangelo to me in late October," Beamer said. "We promised him an opportunity to come in and compete, and we'll see what happens. He's been awesome. Obviously, he'll be the first to tell you he probably needs to lose weight and continue to get in shape. ... but he's an old soul, and he's got a great maturity about himself."

Where Gibbs fits on the Gamecocks' roster

Gibbs was the the No. 4 safety in the Class of 2017 but also worked at wide receiver at Georgia and Tennessee. He said he plans to primarily play defensive back with the Gamecocks but is open to getting involved on the offensive side if needed.

"When I first got here they were asking me what I wanted to play, and I was like hey whatever suits the team, whatever suits the culture," Gibbs said. "I chose to play DB because I feel like as a DB you've got to be more technically sound, you've got to be more fundamentally sound ... and I also believe as a DB its gets you more in shape because you have to follow and chase and tackle."

The journey to South Carolina has not been smooth, but Gibbs has no regrets about the challenges he has faced in his football career. He said he feels more prepared than ever to contribute to the team as a more complete person off the field.

"I wasn't perfect coming out of high school. I was young, and I was caught up in the limelight, caught up in wrong things," Gibbs said. "However, this opportunity has formed and shaped me to become a better man that I can truly be ... That's one thing I can say about Coach Beamer is he wants to prepare us for life in general, not just for these few years ... I see myself now as a better man, all around in every aspect."

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina football: Deangelo Gibbs played at Tennessee, Georgia