Tennessee football remains down its top two cornerbacks as it prepares to face Mississippi State in its SEC road opener Saturday afternoon. Starting cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson are both out against the Bulldogs according to the SEC Availability Report on Wednesday night.
McCoy has yet to make his 2025 season debut after tearing his ACL back in January. The junior cornerback continues to rehab and could return to the field as early as the Arkansas game following Tennessee’s first open date of the season.
The 6-foot, 190-pound McCoy was an All-SEC contributor as a sophomore a season ago, totaling 44 tackles, four interceptions and seven pass deflections. McCoy’s breakout sophomore season earned him Preseason All-American honors and a potential first round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Gibson suffered an injury in the first half of Tennessee’s season-opening win over Syracuse and has yet to return to the field since. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said that Gibson will miss “an extended period” of time due to the injury and the junior corner was in a sling before the Vols win over UAB.
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With McCoy and Gibson sidelined, Colorado transfer Colton Hood and freshman Ty Redmond have stepped up into starting spots.
Hood has been stellar over the first four games of the season. Opponents have targeted him 16 times, completing just four of those passes for 32 yards. The strong play to begin the season has Hood climbing up draft boards with CBS currently projecting him as a first round pick.
It’s been a bit more dicey for Redmond to begin the season. He had strong performances against Syracuse and ETSU but Georgia targeted him constantly and had success doing so in the Bulldogs’ overtime win in Knoxville. Mississippi State will provide another tough test for the freshman Redmond.
Tennessee is a touchdown favorites against Mississippi State as of Wednesday afternoon. The Vols are looking for their first SEC win after falling to Georgia in their conference opener two weeks prior. Mississippi State is off to a 4-0 start with a quartet of non conference wins.
Kickoff between Tennessee and Mississippi State is at 4:15 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon. Dave Neal, Fozzy Whittaker and Morgan Uber are on the call for the SEC Network.
