For good reason, Tennessee football cornerback Jermod McCoy has been named a preseason All-American and is listed in the majority of first-round mocks for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Vols secondary coach Willie Martinez noted how well McCoy played a year ago, but also gave a shoutout to the corner who manned the other side of the field, Rickey Gibson III. Also a rising junior, Gibson was the running mate with McCoy, making up one of the better corner tandems in the country.
In Martinez’s eyes, Gibson was the ‘most consistent’ on the ‘edges’ in the 2024 playoff run a year ago. For this reason, the team relied heavily on him down the stretch.
“He got into a lot of plays last year at the end of the year,” Martinez said. “As the season was going on, he was the most consistent, to be honest with you, on the edges. I know Jermod had an unbelievable year, don’t get me wrong, and the plays he made were phenomenal, but Rickey, we leaned on Rickey a lot because again, he’s a guy that knows the scheme. He knows it really well. He’s been able to help Jermod last year when Jermod was learning defense. But he’s a lot smarter (than last year). He’s more aware of what the safeties are doing and he knows how they work with each other. And great leadership, man.”
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While Gibson was effective a year ago, Martinez sees improvement for him in multiple areas this offseason. This is seemingly in both the physical and mental side of things.
Physically, Martinez noted his ‘ball skills’ in terms of going up and coming down with passes to force turnovers. During drills, he’s been better at tracking passes and finishing the rep. Mentally, Martinez said he’s taken another step as a leader. He’s always had a voice in the room, but now it is amplified.
This is all a continuation from the defensive backs before him, who helped him when he was getting ready to play himself.
“I really love that room, man,” Martinez said. “That room was built with some guys that have been around here and have taken it from some of the guys that have left here. Whether it’s been Tank (Jaylen McCollough) or it’s Alontae Taylor or Theo Jackson. You can see it in the room. It’s running on its own gas.”
As a sophomore, Gibson played in 12 games. In this time, he managed 32 tackles, two tackles for loss, five passes defended and a forced fumble. He is still hunting his first interception.
As a result, Athlon tabbed him as a Preseason Third-Team All-SEC member heading into this season.
