Tennessee's wait for a verdict on Aubrey Solomon goes on.

Tennessee's approach with the transfer defensive lineman hasn't changed.

The Vols opened preseason practice on Friday afternoon still in the dark regarding whether or not Solomon will be eligible to play this season after transferring to Tennessee from Michigan, where he totaled 24 tackles in 18 games the past two seasons.

Solomon's fate for this season remains in the hands of the NCAA with Tennessee yet to receive a ruling on his waiver for immediately eligibility and unsure when the ruling might arrive. If the waiver is denied, the 6-foot-5, 299-pounder will have to sit out the season and won't be able to take the field for the Vols until the 2020 season. Behind the scenes, Tennessee remains optimistic he will be eligible to play in 2019, when his addition would be a big boost for a defensive line having to replace all three starters from last season.

The Vols continue to operate as if the former five-star prospect will be available this season by giving him a full workload in practice, but that's more down to the way the Vols practice than any indication how they feel about the chances the always unpredictable NCAA rules favorably on his waiver.

Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt again downplayed any notion he or the Vols are frustrated or hindered by the wait for an official ruling on Solomon's status for the season.

“There’s no challenges,” he said after Tennessee’s first preseason practice on Friday afternoon. “We’re not coaching Aubrey any different than we would if we knew his (eligibility) status. We coach every player in our program every single day. Everybody gets the same amount of reps. That’s why, if you come to Tennessee, you’re going to have an opportunity to develop as a football player, because you’re going to get to practice. Some of those guys out there today practiced a lot more, probably, than they were expecting.

“It’s not going to change how we approach it. When the season gets here it obviously would, right, when you start game planning, but fall camp, we’re coaching everybody the same way.”

Solomon exited spring practice as one of the first-team defensive ends and will be counted on to make a significant impact this season if he's given a green light from the NCAA.

He was productive in a reserve role at Michigan as a freshman, grading out well overall and even better as a run-stopping presence on a defensive line including a pair of future NFL Draft picks ahead of him, but his sophomore season never really got going as he was limited to just five games by a knee injury.

Tennessee already has determined its other major transfer, former Georgia defensive back Deangelo Gibbs, will redshirt and sit out this season after changing programs within the SEC, but the Vols are banking on having Solomon available this season, though it isn't changing their approach any at this stage of the preseason.

Said Pruitt: “Deangelo Gibbs is not going to play (this season), took the same amount of reps (today) as Marquez Callaway.”

Tennessee's second preseason practice is set for Saturday afternoon.