The Tennessee Volunteers and their defensive line received a boost Tuesday when the NCAA approved a transfer waiver for Aubrey Solomon.
Solomon, a defensive tackle from Leesburg, Ga., transferred from Michigan in December. Unless a waiver is granted for immediate eligibility, an undergraduate transfer is required to sit out an entire season.
The 6-foot-5, 299-pound Solomon, a junior who practiced during the offseason with the Vols, is eligible to play in Saturday’s season opener at home against Georgia State, according to 247sports.com. He has been working with the first-team defense this week.
Solomon, from Lee County (Ga.) High School, was part of Michigan’s recruiting Class of 2017. At the time, he was ranked as the No. 2 player at his position and No. 23 overall in the nation on the 247Sports composite.
When Solomon’s transfer was announced in December, Volunteers coach Jeremy Pruitt expected the player to make a major impact.
“Aubrey is a guy that a lot of coaches on our staff knew when he was a young man in high school, and we all recruited him,” Pruitt said a news release. “He can play all three downs. He’s a powerful man. He’s smart. He’s a good student. He has experience, having already played at the collegiate level. He is a great addition to our university and our football program.”
In two seasons for the Wolverines, he played in 18 games and made 24 tackles, with just two for loss.