Tennessee will be without its two starting cornerbacks again for Saturday’s SEC opener against Georgia at Neyland Stadium.
Junior Jermod McCoy, a preseason All-America selection, and junior Rickey Gibson III won’t play against the No. 6 Bulldogs on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+), sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Both players missed last week’s 72-17 victory against East Tennessee State. McCoy is recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered while training in January; Gibson hurt his left arm in the second quarter of the No. 15 Volunteers’ 45-26 win against Syracuse in their Aug. 30 opener.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said last week that Gibson would be out for an “extended time” and didn’t offer a timeline for his return.
Sophomore Colton Hood, a transfer from Colorado, has played well in their absence. He was named the SEC co-defensive player of the week after totaling four tackles and three pass breakups, and returning a fumble 22 yards for a touchdown against Syracuse.
Freshman Ty Redmond, from Alpharetta, Georgia, made his first career start against East Tennessee State, finishing with two tackles and one pass breakup.
The Volunteers will try to end an eight-game losing streak against the Bulldogs, who won each of those games by at least 14 points.
Meanwhile, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Monday that he hopes starting right tackle Earnest Greene III and right guard Juan Gaston, who missed last week’s 28-6 win against FCS program Austin Peay, will be available to play against the Volunteers.
Greene (back) and Gaston (leg) haven’t played since the first quarter of the Bulldogs’ 45-7 victory against Marshall in the opener.
“Both Juan and Earnest, hopefully we’ll learn a lot more about today,” Smart said. “They’re both coming off of bumps, bruises, and injuries, but hopefully we get them back.”
