Despite currently being on the road to recovery following a torn ACL back in January, Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy projects to be one of the top defensive backs across the college football landscape this upcoming season.
McCoy is entering his junior season and his second on Rocky Top, tallying 44 tackles, 26 solo tackles, four interceptions, and seven defended passes during the Vols’ 2024 campaign. The six-foot cornerback also recorded the third-highest defensive season grade (UT) from Pro Football Focus (87.0) and the highest in Tennessee’s secondary. McCoy also recorded more defensive plays than any other Tennessee player this past season.
While McCoy has been talked about a lot recently in way-too-early 2026 NFL mock drafts (more on that later), the Tennessee cornerback was briefly mentioned in a Heisman conversation by ESPN on Friday.
With 100 days until the start of the season, ESPN’s David Hale penned out 10 “wild predictions” for the 2025 slate. His penultimate bold prediction was that Texas’s Arch Manning would not win the Heisman, calling back to his uncle Peyton’s snub at Tennessee back in 1997.
Peyton Manning lost the award to Michigan DB Charles Woodson, and the Heisman hasn’t been presented to a true defensive back since. Colorado’s Travis Hunter won it last season, but his two-way ability on both sides of the ball separates him from what Woodson did.
With Hale taking Manning off the table, he mentioned a few names that could be in the conversation come December:
“But when the award is announced, it’ll actually be a surprise winner instead,” Hale wrote. “Who wins it? How about Oklahoma’s John Mateer? Or maybe Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith? Or perhaps Tennessee gets a little revenge and sends its own athletic defensive star to the podium, with Jermod McCoy winning the hardware.”
It would be an uphill battle simply because the Heisman has been an offensive award in recent history, but that doesn’t mean that McCoy doesn’t have the tools to be one of the top players in the country. McCoy had a knack for stepping up his game in big moments with interceptions against Alabama and Oklahoma, and will have plenty more opportunities with another loaded schedule coming up.
Vegas doesn’t see it the same way right now, though. McCoy doesn’t show up on FanDuel’s hefty Heisman Trophy odds list, but there are a few familiar names:
- Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar (+4500)
- Former UT, UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava (+8000)
- Former UT, Colorado QB Kaidon Salter (+10000)
- Former UT, UCF QB Tayven Jackson (+30000)
- Former UT, Florida State WR Squirrel White (+50000)
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As previously mentioned, McCoy has been a widely talked-about name in NFL circles this spring despite still recovering from a torn ACL that occurred at an offseason workout in January in his home state of Texas.
PFF’s Dalton Wasserman released his way-too-early 2026 NFL Draft first-round mock on Apr. 28 with McCoy landing as the projected 15th overall pick to the Miami Dolphins. Wasserman also had McCoy tabbed as the second-best eligible defensive back, slightly behind Clemson’s Avieon Terrell.
The NFL Draft is a long way away, though. And in the meantime, McCoy is diligently working to return to the field with his teammates.
“We know that Jermod’s going to be back,” Tennessee secondary coach Willie Martinez said during spring camp. “We know he’s a great player. We know he’s a great leader. He’s doing an unbelievable job – just the same thing I just said about Rickey is times two with him. He’s engaged. He’s actually growing as a player, even though he’s not physically going through it. He’s setting the example. He’s leading it.”
