ATLANTA — One game down, one touchdown scored.
Redshirt sophomore cornerback Colton Hood had a Tennessee debut to remember Saturday, tallying four tackles, three pass breakups and a 22-yard fumble return for a touchdown during the No. 24 Volunteers’ 45-26 thumping of Syracuse at the Aflac Kickoff Classic inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. His scoop-and-score fumble return made it 17-0 in the final minute of the first quarter.
“I’ve been playing baseball since I was 6 years old,” Hood said. “When I saw that ball on the ground, it was just like picking up that ground ball in the outfield. I picked it up and ran it into the end zone.”
Hood, a 6-foot, 195-pounder from the Atlanta suburb of McDonough, signed with Auburn in 2023 and redshirted that season before transferring to play last year at Colorado. He transferred to the Vols in early May with the thought that he could provide depth behind the projected starting tandem of Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III.
That line of thinking started to change when it became apparent McCoy wouldn’t be ready for Saturday’s opener, and Gibson wound up suffering a first-half elbow injury against the Orange and did not return.