Tennessee Football: Freshman Tamarion McDonald to redshirt

Tennessee Football freshman Tamarion McDonald will redshirt for the 2020 season after undergoing shoulder surgery this summer.

Tennessee football’s defensive back depth will be without one freshman as Jeremy Pruitt announced that freshman defensive back Tamarion McDonald will redshirt for the 2020 season.

The true freshman had to undergo offseason shoulder surgery, which is Pruitt’s reason why McDonald will be redshirted this fall.

"“He had shoulder surgery this summer,” Pruitt said. “We elected to do that so he would be ready when we started in the winter time. Went ahead and got that done for him over the uncertainty at that point in time during the pandemic. We felt like that was the best thing to do, so we went ahead and done that. He’s a guy that will definitely be redshirted this season.”"

Thanks to a recent decision by the NCAA, McDonald will not lose a year of eligibility or his redshirt. The NCAA announced on Friday that college athletes will be granted a free year of eligibility due to COVID-19.

That poses an entirely new challenge next year as more freshmen will come in as a part of the 2021 class while there will likely be some seniors stay for an extra year.

McDonald is a three-star and the No. 38 ranked outside linebacker in the 247Sports composite rankings. He was a big reason Whitehaven made it to the State semifinals last season. The Whitehaven defense gave up only 5.4 points per game last season and had seven shutouts.

Many expected McDonald to be a linebacker at the next level, but when he arrived in Knoxville, Pruitt moved him to the secondary. He is now expected to play the nickel and safety positions.