Tennessee football has three games remaining in the regular season before its bowl game appearance. That leaves little time for star cornerback Jermod McCoy to return to the field, if he chooses to play this season. He suffered an ACL injury in January that he has been working back from, but has yet to get cleared for a game.
Despite the potential of not playing this season, McCoy is still slotted as a consensus first-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft and could go as high as the top 10. With the Vols out of the playoff picture, some are beginning to rule out him playing this year. On Wednesday, head coach Josh Heupel commented on those chances ahead of a matchup with New Mexico State.
“Jermod, I’ve said it throughout the course of the season, and obviously, a tough injury for him and for us while we were off last January before we came back and started our off-season, he’s done a great job,” Heupel said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference. “Competed really hard and been a great teammate throughout all of the rehab process. Continues to do more on the football side of it. Don’t have an expectation for this Saturday yet, but he continues to do the right things to give himself a chance here at the end of the year.”
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In his first year with UT, McCoy managed 44 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. He came up with four interceptions, as well, including a one-handed snag against Ryan Williams of Alabama and a circus catch in the end zone at Vanderbilt.
Tennessee has also been without its other projected starting corner going into the year. After just a handful of plays against Syracuse, Rickey Gibson III went down with an injury that he is still recovering from.
“Rickey will be out for an extended period here,” Heupel said on the Monday following his injury. “How long, I don’t have the exact timeline on. But he’ll be out for an extended time.”
Gibson entered his junior year as a second-year starter with high expectations. He was named a Preseason All-SEC Third-Team member by Athlon. As a sophomore, he produced 32 tackles, two tackles for loss, five passes defended and a forced fumble.
Without McCoy or Gibson, it’s been Colton Hood and Ty Redmond holding it down. Hood, a Colorado transfer, has been a breakout star who’s played his way into a possible first-round selection in the upcoming NFL draft. Redmond is a true freshman who has played nearly every snap at corner since Gibson’s injury. William Wright has been the first option off the bench, but has only sparingly seen the field.
