There’s some concern that the Tennessee Vols could be without a key starter against the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday night.

Vols cornerback Colton Hood suffered an injury in Tennessee’s 56-34 win over the Kentucky Wildcats this past weekend.

Hood, a Colorado transfer who is viewed as a potential first-round selection in next spring’s NFL Draft, suffered the injury in the second half. According to the SEC Network broadcast of the game, Hood visited the injury tent after leaving the game.

The Georgia native played 46 of 73 defensive snaps against the Wildcats.

Will Colton Hood play against Oklahoma?

On Monday, Vols head coach Josh Heupel was asked about Hood’s status for Oklahoma.

“Stay tuned to the injury report,” said Heupel.

Some Vols fans have interpreted Heupel’s comment as a bad sign for Hood, given how he’s handled injuries in the past (remember the Cooper Mays saga in 2023?).

Typically, if there’s little or no concern about a player, Heupel will go ahead and say he anticipates the player playing (which is what he did two Mondays ago with DeSean Bishop). When Heupel references the injury report, it usually means things aren’t as clear.

The concern about Hood’s status, by the way, doesn’t just stem from Heupel’s comment on Monday.

Longtime Vols insider Tony Basilio suggested on his website that Hood “could be out for a while.”

If Hood can’t play against Oklahoma, it would likely mean that walk-on William Wright and true freshman Ty Redmond would serve as Tennessee’s starting cornerbacks against the Sooners.

We’ll see what the first SEC injury report says on Wednesday when it’s released. For now, though, this is something worth monitoring for Vols fans.

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