In an ideal world, Tennessee Football wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not Jermod McCoy would be at 100 percent to start the season. However, the Vols defensive back’s offseason ACL tea in January makes this not an ideal world, so they have to add an insurance policy beyond Ricky Gibson III if the PFF All-American isn’t ready to go.
Josh Heupel did just that by adding Colorado Buffaloes transfer defensive back Colton Hood. The cornerback, who was in line to replace Travis Hunter as the No. 1 guy on Deion Sanders’ team this upcoming year, committed to the Vols last Friday. Make no mistake, he immediately boosts the Vols’ defensive backfield.
Last year, Hood played 215 snaps as a freshman. He didn’t allow one touchdown and forced a 51.7 passer rating on quarterbacks who threw the ball his way. Hood also came away with two interceptions. Simply put, he has plenty of experience and should be ready to fill a huge void for Tennessee Football.
At 5’11” 190 pounds, Hood is likely to compete with Gibson for the No. 1 cornerback role while McCoy works to get healthy. It’s unlikely that neither is ready for that role while McCoy is also not at 100 percent. If you were thinking in parlay terms, those three things individually are likely to work against the Vols, but it’s not likely all three of them do.
Hood’s potential as a freshman shows he could be ready to step into that role immediately as well. Beyond just the insurance policy, though, he also provides crucial depth for Tim Banks and Willie Martinez in a secondary that is hurting on that front at the moment.
Now, Tennessee Football can run three cornerbacks for two different spots and have a solid rotation. They can also move Jalen McMurray over to nickel, who can alternate with Boo Carter, which gives Carter the chance to play more offensive snaps, a goal of his.
At safety, Jourdan Thomas getting healthy and Andre Turrentine is a huge boost. However, Jakobe Thomas returning would help in a big way, as right now, they have to rely on unproven Edrees Farooq for their third guy. That might be where Heupel needs to turn next in the portal.
Still, Hood is a big pickup for Tennessee Football, and he’s a bit of payback for the Vols too, who just lost Larry Johnson III and John Slaughter to Colorado. If not for Joey Aguilar, he would have been a major splash spring transfer portal addition. Don’t forget McCoy was a freshman transfer last year and became an All-American. Maybe it happens again.
