Former Tennessee kicker Brent Cimaglia has decided to take his talents three hours south on Interstate 75.
Cimaglia announced Sunday on social media that he will use his extra season of eligibility at Georgia Tech. The 6-foot, 200-pound senior from Nashville announced in late January that he was entering the NCAA transfer portal.
"Honored and blessed to receive this opportunity," Cimaglia posted on Twitter. "Proud to be a Yellow Jacket. Big things to come!"
Cimaglia made 46 of 62 field-goal attempts with the Volunteers and 88 of 89 extra-point tries, with his lone PAT miss occurring this past season in the final minute of his final contest against Florida. He battled a leg injury this past year and opted out of Tennessee's last two games against Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.
After making 23 of 27 field-goal attempts as a junior on Tennessee's Gator Bowl championship team in 2019 and earning preseason All-Southeastern Conference recognition this past summer, Cimaglia was just 5-of-9 as the Vols stumbled to a 3-7 record.
While Tennessee likely is headed for NCAA sanctions after an internal investigation revealed that multiple Level I and Level II violations occurred under former coach Jeremy Pruitt, the Yellow Jackets are still in a rebuilding mode under coach Geoff Collins, whose first two years in Atlanta have yielded a 6-16 mark. Collins is having to overhaul an offense that ran the triple-option for 11 seasons under predecessor Paul Johnson.
Tennessee already has filled the vacancy left by Cimaglia, signing Southern California's Chase McGrath as a graduate transfer. McGrath began his USC career as a walk-on but earned a scholarship after the 2017 season, when he made 12 of 17 field-goal attempts.
After his 2018 season was cut short by injury, McGrath returned in 2019 to connect on 14 of 17 field-goal tries, but he was affected by knee and hip tendinitis this past season and never attempted a kick. In his career with the Trojans, McGrath made 32 of 42 field-goal attempts and 118 of 119 extra-point tries.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.