Redshirt freshman wide receiver Vincent Perry has been ruled academically ineligible for the 2016 season, Tennessee coach Butch Jones told GoVols247 on Wednesday afternoon.

Perry will be taken off scholarship for now but will stay with the team as a walk-on, and Jones said the player has a chance to earn back his scholarship if he does what is expected of him on and off the field this season.

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Jones said he appreciated Perry and his family for making the decision to keep him enrolled at Tennessee as a walk-on, calling it a good first step toward a potentially positive outcome in the situation.

Perry, a former star at Hillsboro High School in Nashville, was ranked the nation’s No. 14 all-purpose back in the 2015 industry-generated 247Sports Composite. He impressed coaches and teammates last season in preseason camp before going down with a season-ending meniscus injury, and he re-injured his knee this spring, as well.

Tennessee has known about the possibility of Perry’s academic ineligibility for a while, and some moves — including the switch of highly touted freshman Tyler Byrd from cornerback to wide receiver — have been made to bolster depth at that position. Byrd joins a large group of highly touted wide receivers the Vols signed in the 2016 class.

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Contact Wes Rucker by email at wesrucker247@gmail.com or ON TWITTER, or FOLLOW GOVOLS247 ON FACEBOOK.