KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt announced on Wednesday that freshman offensive lineman Melvin McBride will retire from football due to a personal medical condition that was discovered during his pre-participation physical after his arrival on campus. McBride will remain on scholarship with the Vols, and he will continue to be a part of the program.
“Melvin is a great young man, and my heart breaks for him and his family,” Pruitt said. “However, I’m glad that we have an outstanding medical staff that did a great job identifying the problem when Melvin first arrived here. We are always going to do what’s best for our student-athletes here at Tennessee. He is certainly a Vol for Life and will continue to be a big part of our program.”
McBride starred at Whitehaven High School in Memphis where he was named Preseason First Team All-State by USA Today and as one of the city’s Top 10 players by the Commercial Appeal in 2018. McBride helped lead Whitehaven to an appearance in the 2018 Tennessee state 6A championship game and paved the way for an offense that racked up 3,847 yards of total offense in 2017.
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