The college football season is getting closer by the day, which means that more and more analysts are turning their offseason lists into preseason lists as the 2025 regular season draws near.
We’ve looked at several lists throughout the offseason, with many noting the best players, teams, and situations in college football.
The latest list from ESPN is rather striking, though.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly went through and picked out his Top 40 most important players in the college football landscape heading into the season. While a majority of the selections were rightfully from the quarterback position, Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy was left off the list entirely.
It’s not all too surprising to see McCoy’s name left off, mainly because of the sheer number of quarterbacks and the importance that position holds, but he is deserving of a spot. Even coming off an injury, he has the potential to be the best and most lockdown cornerback in the nation this year when he returns to full health.
When healthy, McCoy’s presence covering the opposing team’s top receiver is a game-changing aspect. We still don’t know what McCoy’s return timetable looks like, but having him in the lineup changes Tennessee from being a high-level defense to an elite defense.
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McCoy ranked as the top defensive back for Tennessee last year and the third-highest defensive player overall, trailing only first-round pick James Pearce Jr. and current teammate Joshua Josephs, according to Pro Football Focus.
In fact, he’s thought of so highly that even with the injury, many are projecting him as a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft next year.
It’s understandable why he’s not on the list because of his position and his current injury, but when healthy, McCoy is arguably the best overall player on the Vols’ roster and one of the best at his position in the nation.
“No timetable on him,” Josh Heupel said of McCoy at the start of spring camp. “There are benchmark things that he’s got to accomplish within our training room to move on to the next phase of it. He’s handled it really well from the very beginning. Just his mindset and how he’s approached every single day. He’s done a really good job throughout the course of the summer. Periodically, you see his drills, movement, explosive-type drills that he’s doing, change based on his rehab protocol. He’s handled it extremely well. As we go through training camp, there’ll be a progression. How his body responds to some of those things will kind of dictate the time period of when he’s available for us.”
Check out Bill Connelly’s full list for ESPN here.
