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Tennessee DB Jermod McCoy Ranked As The No. 31 Player In College Football By ESPN

McCoy ranked as one of the top players in the sport
Najeh Wilkins|
Tennessee defensive back Jermod McCoy (3) celebrates after making a play during a college football game between Tennessee and Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
Tennessee defensive back Jermod McCoy (3) celebrates after making a play during a college football game between Tennessee and Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, November 16, 2024. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tennessee Volunteers have received a large amount of recognition throughout the offseason, and standing front and center in that has been Vols defensive back Jermod McCoy. He’s received a bevvy of preseason honors, including Preseason All-American by Associated Press, Walter Camp Preseason Award, All-SEC Preseason First-Team, Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watchlist, and much more.

McCoy was recently recognized by ESPN as a top-ranked player in college football. He was was ranked as the No. 31 best player in college football this season.

Here is more from ESPN's Chris Low.

"After transferring from, McCoy established himself as one of the premier cornerbacks in the country last season. He served as the eraser on the back end of a Tennessee defense that held 10 of its 13 opponents under 20 points."

McCoy is the third-highest rated defensive back behind Ohio State's Caleb Downs and Notre Dame's Leonard Moore, who are some of the best in the country. McCoy had a strong 2024 season, finishing with 26 tackles, seven passes defensed, and four interceptions. He is only scratching the surface os his potential and what he can accomplish on the gridiron.

He had one of the best coverage grades in college football a season ago, finishing with an 89.6 PFF coverage grade, the second highest among cornerbacks. McCoy had an 87.0 overall defensive grade and gave up just a 53.6 opponent passer rating when throwing to his area.

McCoy has been working back from injury and continuing to rehab in order to be ready for the Vols at some point this season. Here is what head coach Josh Heupel had to say about his timeline back in late July, captured by Vols on SI Jonathan Williams.

“No timetable on him," Heupel said. "There are benchmark things that he’s got to accomplish within our training room to move on to the next phase of it. He’s handled it really well from the very beginning. Just his mindset and how he’s approached every single day. He’s done a really good job throughout the course of the summer. Periodically, you see his drills, movement, explosive-type drills that he’s doing, change based on his rehab protocol. He’s handled it extremely well. As we go through training camp, there’ll be a progression. How his body responds to some of those things will kind of dictate the time period of when he’s available for us.”

Make no mistake with McCoy, Tennessee has one of the best secondaries in the country. He can play man, zone, and come up and tackle in open space. He has all the characteristics of an elite prospect who will make it to the next level. The biggest question now is when the Vols can expect him back on the field and being a valuable player for the program

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Najeh Wilkins
NAJEH WILKINS

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