After a strong debut with Tennessee football, cornerback transfer Colton Hood was named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts. He shares the award with linebacker Fred Johnson from South Carolina. Hood finished with four tackles, a fumble recovery touchdown and three pass breakups in the 45-26 win over Syracuse in Atlanta.
According to PFF, Hood played in 86 of Tennessee’s 90 defensive snaps in the game. The site gave him a 75.4 grade for the game, the second-best on the defense behind just fellow cornerback and true freshman Ty Redmond.
His finest highlight was scooping and scoring a forced fumble caused by Nathan Robinson. This gave him a touchdown in the first half of his first game in orange.
“Why first I want to say I give all glory to God,” Hood said. “Without Him, me and my teammates would be nothing. I want to give all glory to Him. I’ve been playing baseball since I was six years old. When I seen that ball on the ground, it’s like picking up a groundball in the outfield. I just ran it into the end zone.”
More From RTI: SEC Shorts: Tennessee Football Enjoys the Late Night CFB Slate in Style After Cruising To Week 1 Victory
Hood is a redshirt sophomore and on his third team in three years. He began his career at Auburn, where he spent just his true freshman season. He played in just four games while earning a redshirt.
The following year, he transferred to Deion Sanders’ Colorado program. He primarily came off the bench, but did get starting experience due to injury. He shared the position room with eventual Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, as well. In the spring, he re-entered the transfer portal and found his way to Tennessee.
His play became even more crucial with Jermod McCoy sidelined for a period of time to open the season. McCoy does not have a clear timetable for his return, but is recovering from an ACL injury suffered in the winter.
