The crucial moment of 2026 is becoming clearer for Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy

The most important moment of McCoy’s pre-draft process will come at the end of February.

Craig Smith — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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It’s been a tough 12 months for Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy.

After tearing his ACL in January 2025, he missed a chance to continue the strong momentum of a terrific 2024 season for the Volunteer defense, sitting out the entire season for Tennessee.

However, that hasn’t deterred the outlook by many for him in April’s NFL Draft. He’s been projected as a virtual first-round lock, with many having him as the first cornerback off the board.

Naturally, with him out all season, a crucial event for him will be at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis from February 26 – March 1. And while it’s not yet known what, if any, work he’ll do physically at the Combine, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler noted that it’ll be a chance for teams to get a good look at McCoy and evaluate his medicals before they invest a premium draft pick on him.

The NFL Combine in Indianapolis will be the time for teams to evaluate the health of Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy

“Jermod McCoy is obviously interesting because we don’t have any 2025 tape on him,” Brugler said over the weekend. “But those medicals at the Combine will be everything. I think you’re at least encouraged that the injury, the ACL, was a year ago January, so he should be fully healed for the Combine and working out.”

It seemed as though perhaps McCoy was going to be able to return to the field for Tennessee at some point during the season, as he returned to practice during fall camp in early August. He wasn’t doing teamwork, but he was involved in individual drills, which was an encouraging sign for his availability later in the season.

However, he never ended up being able to return to the field, and reports of him potentially returning for any given game were considered premature and called out by Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel ahead of the Arkansas game back in early October.

“Jermod continues to do a great job in his rehab with our medical staff and our strength staff,” said Heupel. “Somebody told me there was a report out there of a certain ball game that he’s focused in on as far as returning. I think that’s unfair. Whoever put that out there, I don’t think truly understands Jermod and the situation.

“He’s done a really good job. He’s got more to go. I think it’s all about him being prepared to go play. There’s a lot of things that go into that. You look at the position he plays, all the reactionary work that you have to have. And so, you’re always balancing his ability to be prepared, and [his] short-term and long-term health as well.”

ACL injuries are tough and don’t have a firm timetable. Guys recover at different times, and McCoy simply wasn’t able to go. Credit to Heupel and his staff for not pushing his recovery, as that likely ensured McCoy’s best health going into one of the most important months of McCoy’s life.

We’ll see how things go in Indianapolis, but with a year off to get his knee right, hopefully he’ll satisfy enough medical professionals and NFL executives to find himself high on draft boards going into April’s draft in Pittsburgh.

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