ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Monday morning that Tennessee will be without cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III on Saturday against Georgia in Neyland Stadium.
The No. 15 Vols will host the No. 6 Bulldogs at 3:30 p.m. ET in Week 3 action.
“Sources: Tennessee will again be without its two starting corners (against) Georgia this week, as both Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson are not expected back,” Thamel posted to X. “McCoy is still recovering from his ACL tear in January, and Gibson (undisclosed) is out for an extended period of time.”
During his opening press conference on Monday in Knoxville, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel directed all injury-related questions to the official SEC Injury Report later in the week: “I’m going to refer you guys to the injury, availability report. It’ll be out on Wednesday.”
Colorado/Auburn transfer Colton Hood, who leads the SEC in PBUs with 5, has played well in place of McCoy. True freshman Ty Redmond is expected to start again for the Vols. McCoy was a first-team preseason All-American and No. 31 on ESPN’s Top 100 player list.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 8, 2025
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Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy has not been seen on the field yet this season. He suffered an ACL tear during a January workout and has been in the recovery process throughout the entire offseason. McCoy did make headlines in fall training camp when he returned to the practice field in a limited capacity, but Tennessee has not given any expectations for when the future NFL Draft pick could return to the game field.
Rickey Gibson, on the other hand, suffered an injury just 19 defensive snaps into the Vols’ season-opening contest against Syracuse in Week 1. On the Monday after the injury occurred, Heupel stated that Gibson would “be out for an extended period here.” As with McCoy, Tennessee did not give an exact timetable, but throwing out the word extended does suggest that it could be a good chunk into the season before Gibson returns to the field. Again, there’s no public timetable from Tennessee on Gibson.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for immediate injury-related coverage when the SEC Injury Report is released on Wednesday night.
With McCoy and Gibson both sidelined for the Vols’ dominant Week 2 win over ETSU, Tennessee turned to former Colorado transfer Colton Hood and true freshman Ty Redmond as the starting cornerbacks against the Bucs. That was the expected decision considering both played the majority of the CB snaps after Gibson’s injury against Syracuse.
While their snaps against ETSU were limited with the nature of the blowout and Tennessee’s decision to get rotational players plenty of work during the game, both players have been impressive during their time on the field so far this season. They’ll both face a big test this Saturday when the Bulldogs and their skilled receivers roll into Knoxville for a Top 15 clash on Rocky Top.
“Still really talented,” Heupel said about Georgia’s receivers on Monday. “Got speed, playmakers. (Zachariah) Branch is a guy that’s played at a high level, has experience, played really well here the first couple of games – Dynamic in the return game as well. He poses a big test for us.”
Check out Rocky Top Insider throughout the week for more Tennessee-Georgia coverage and on Wednesday night for the first look at the Vols’ injury report ahead of the game on Saturday.
No. 15 Tennessee will host No. 6 Georgia at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon in Neyland Stadium.
