The accolades keep coming in for Tennessee football cornerback Jermod McCoy this offseason. The Vols’ preseason All-American defensive back clocked in relatively high on ESPN’s top 100 players list for the 2025 college football season.
McCoy landed at No. 31 on the list. This is the second-highest mark for a cornerback and third for any defensive back. Ohio State safety Caleb Downs is at No. 3 while Notre Dame corner Leonard Moore is at No. 13. McCoy is the 13th-highest-rated player in the SEC, as well.
“After transferring from Oregon State, McCoy established himself as one of the premier cornerbacks in the country last season,” ESPN’s Chris Low wrote. “He served as the eraser on the back end of a Tennessee defense that held 10 of its 13 opponents under 20 points. The Vols aren’t sure when they will get McCoy back this season after he tore his ACL in January while training.”
No other current or former Tennessee players made the cut for the top 100 list.
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McCoy is coming off an ACL injury he suffered during the offseason. He has begun to work his way back to practice, but was still not a full participant in the periods open to the media a week ago. He continued to be limited in terms of the contact he received, although he remains in a normal orange jersey and not a red non-contact jersey.
McCoy did not have any significant brace on his injured knee, but did sport a small band just below his kneecap. There was no visible impediment in his movement while the media was able to watch. After the Vols held their first scrimmage of fall camp, which McCoy did not participate in, head coach Josh Heupel met with the media to give his thoughts on McCoy’s limited return to practices.
“Yeah, cool moment for Jermod. Big moment getting back on the field, doing some of the individual work,” Heupel said. “It was cool to see the way his brothers were excited for him in that moment and how big that was, too. He broke us down before practice. And he’s done an elite job throughout his rehab, and there’s still more that he’s got to continue to do, but excited to get him back out with us.”
Tennessee will open the season against Syracuse on August 30 in Atlanta. This gives McCoy less than a month of time to gear up if he intends to be ready for the opener. Whether McCoy is or isn’t available to start the season, Rickey Gibson III will man one of the corner positions. On the other side, it’ll likely be Colton Hood, a Colorado transfer from this spring.
When healthy, McCoy is projected to start at cornerback opposite of Gibson. 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.
