Jackson State football, Deion Sanders land Tennessee transfer who will also play basketball - Clarion Ledger

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Another former Tennessee football player is on his way to join the Jackson State football team and coach Deion Sanders this fall.

Former Tennessee wide receiver Malachi Wideman is expected to join the Tigers, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told the Clarion Ledger. The source requested anonymity because the transfer is not yet official. 

Wideman announced his decision to enter the transfer portal June 24.

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Wideman would be the second former UT player to join Jackson State's football roster since the start of the Sanders era. Former Tennessee walk-on edge rusher Nyles Gaddy also is on the roster.

Wideman will be at JSU on a football scholarship, the source said, and he's also expected join coach Wayne Brent and the men's basketball team after football season.

"I am embarking on a future that will allow me to showcase my God-given talents on a solid platform in basketball and football," Wideman wrote in his transfer portal announcement in June.

Wideman was a three-star basketball prospect at Venice High School in Venice, Florida, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound athlete is expected to be a shooting guard and small forward on the wing for JSU.

Playing on the football and men's basketball team is uncommon at Jackson State, with De'Suan Dixon, a current assistant men's basketball coach, the last player to do it in 2011. 

Wideman was a four-star receiver prospect coming out of high school. He was a longtime Florida State commit before flipping to Tennessee after the Seminoles hired coach Mike Norvell. With Tennessee last season, he played in six games as a freshman and made a 24-yard reception against Kentucky on Oct. 17.

Wideman would add to Jackson State's revamped receiving corps that expected freshman starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders has to work with. The corps features four-star prospects Quaydarius Davis and Trevonte Rucker, three-star signee Aalah Brown, Ohio transfer Shane Hooks and Louisville transfer Corey Reed. Reed is the only receiver among them who played for Jackson State in the spring season.

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Contact Rashad Milligan at 601-862-6198 or Jmilligan@gannett.com. Follow @RashadMilligan on Twitter.

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