Tennessee football is going to be down another starting cornerback going forward. With Jermod McCoy still working his way back from the ACL injury he suffered this offseason, Rickey Gibson III is now also going to miss time. On Monday, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel gave the latest news on his status.
“Rickey will be out for an extended period here,” Heupel said. “How long, I don’t have the exact timeline on. But he’ll be out for an extended time.”
Gibson suffered his injury early in the 45-26 win over Syracuse. Gibson played in 19 snaps before suffering the injury. He one solo tackle before going down.
Behind Gibson, freshman Ty Redmond stepped up in his place. He opposed spring transfer Colton Hood, who was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week, in the secondary. Hood and Redmond earned the top PFF grades on the entire defense for their efforts.
William Wright also got action at cornerback due to the injuries. Jalen McMurray got his snaps at STAR, but showed a year ago he can play cornerback if needed, as well.
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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.
As a freshman, he played in 13 games while recording nine tackles, one tackle for loss and a pass defended.
He is out of Hewitt-Trussville High School just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. He was rated as a four-star prospect by On3, Rivals and 247. He was considered the No. 17 cornerback in the country and a top-200 player overall (No. 172) by On3, as well.
