Colton Hood is not on the Wednesday night SEC Injury Report and is good to go for Tennessee’s key SEC matchup against Oklajoma. With top corners Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson still out, Hood being available is a highly important win for the Vols.
Tennessee could still add Hood to the injury report if he suffers a set back later this week, but it is a very good sign that he is not on the Wednesday night report.
Hood suffered an injury in the second half of Tennessee’s 56-34 win over Kentucky last week. The star cornerback played in just one of Kentucky’s four second half drives, totaling 46 snaps in the win. It was his third lowest snap total of the season only ahead of the UAB and ETSU game.
Hood transferred from Colorado to Tennessee this offseason and has been one of the Vols’ best players and SEC’s best corners this season. One of 15 semifinals for the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation’s top defensive back, Hood’s totaled 32 tackles, one interception, seven pass breakups and one forced fumble.
The redshirt sophomore has been a playmaker this season, scoring a touchdown on a scoop-and-score against Syracuse and again on a pick six against Mississippi State.
More From RTI: “Pick Your Poison”: Tennessee Football Wide Receivers Creating Unsolvable Problem
Hood not being available would have been a major blow on its own. But combined with the Vols’ cornerback depth concerns it would have been all the more problematic. Freshman Ty Redmond has started across from Hood for most of the season. But the path behind the two is unclear
Former walk-on William Wright has been the next man up, totaling 133 snaps so far this season. The Vols only other main options are freshmen Tre Poteat and Timothy Merritt. Poteat has played just 38 snaps while Merritt has played 27 snaps this season.
Tennessee football is three-point favorites against Oklahoma according to the DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 56.5. The SEC matchup is effectively a College Football Playoff elimination game with both teams entering the matchup with two losses on the season.
Kickoff between Tennessee and Oklahoma is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe are on the call for ABC.
