Tennessee sophomore cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III began this football season with one combined start for the Volunteers.
Now they’re vying to be the top tandem at that position in the Southeastern Conference.
“They have the athleticism and the ability to make plays on the ball,” Vols redshirt junior safety Andre Turrentine said this week. “They have the confidence to make plays on the ball. They understand where they are in zone coverage. They understand where they are in relation to man-to-man coverage, which is understanding when to get their eyes around and when to go for the breakup or the pick.
“They understand the preparation and what we’re trying to do as a defense, and all of that has allowed them to play the way they’re playing.”
McCoy and Gibson have been stellar in recent games, with the 6-foot, 193-pound McCoy racking up eight tackles against Alabama as well as a pass breakup and a one-handed interception in the end zone that halted a Crimson Tide drive in the first quarter that had reached Tennessee’s 3-yard line. That play would loom large as the Vols rallied for 24-17 victory on Oct. 19.
The week before against Florida, the 6-foot, 185-pound Gibson compiled a career-best six tackles and a pass breakup in Tennessee’s 23-17 overtime win.
“That’s something that me and Rickey have been talking about since I got here,” McCoy said. “We want to be the best in the SEC. We set a bunch of goals, and we’re trying to get to those goals. We’re trying to be the best in the nation, honestly.”
McCoy, who is from Whitehouse, Texas, was a coveted catch this past offseason after a freshman year at Oregon State in which he made five starts, broke up seven passes and intercepted two. He has started all seven games for the No. 7 Vols, who are 6-1 overall and 3-1 in SEC play entering Saturday night’s home game (7:45 on the SEC Network) against Kentucky (3-5, 1-5), and has 24 tackles, five pass breakups and two interceptions.
According to Pro Football Focus, McCoy’s 85.4 coverage grade ranks third in the SEC and 10th in the Football Bowl Subdivision among cornerbacks who have played at least 200 coverage snaps. He was the Jim Thorpe Award national defensive back of the week following Tennessee’s 25-15 win at Oklahoma on Sept. 21, when he notched his first interception of the season, and earlier this week was named among the Thorpe Award’s 15 semifinalists.
“I think I’m more locked in on the details,” McCoy said. “I was young at my old school and was just out there playing. I didn’t do a lot of studying. I would just go out on the field.
“Now I do a lot more studying in terms of the stuff I need to be prepared for the games.”
Gibson, an Alabama native who hails from the Birmingham suburb of Trussville, played all 13 games for last season’s Vols as a freshman and started the Citrus Bowl triumph over Iowa. He missed this season’s opener against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga due to injury but has started the six games since, tallying 12 tackles and breaking up one pass.
In the win at Oklahoma, Gibson did not allow a reception and was targeted just once in a season-high 69 snaps.
Mincey ruled out
Kentucky fifth-year senior right tackle Gerald Mincey, who played 21 games the past two seasons for Tennessee with 13 starts, will not face his former teammates Saturday. The 6-6, 335-pounder has been listed as “out” on Kentucky’s availability report for Saturday’s showdown.
King staying home
Tennessee received its fifth commitment for the 2026 signing class on Thursday, when Knoxville Catholic junior receiver Tyreek King announced his nonbinding pledge.
The 5-11, 168-pound King is rated as the nation’s No. 120 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings.
The Vols already had commitments from quarterback Faizon Brandon (6-4, 197) of Greensboro, North Carolina, interior offensive lineman Brandon Anderson (6-4, 320) of Kennesaw, Georgia, tight end Carson Sneed (6-6, 235) of Nashville’s Donelson Christian Academy, and defensive lineman Tyson Bacon (6-3, 248) of Hoover, Alabama.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.