Two players at the same position from the same school going in the first round of an NFL Draft is relatively rare. But in a sign of the times in this modern era of college football, Jermod McCoy and Colton Hood never played a game together for Tennessee.
Furthermore, McCoy and Hood combined for just 25 games suited up for the Volunteers.
Natives of Texas and Georgia, respectively, who knows if either actually bleeds UT orange or knows the lyrics to the iconic “Rocky Top” fight song? Regardless, McCoy and Hood are a pair of cornerbacks who excel at press coverage who are widely anticipated to each hear his name called — preceded by the words “from Tennessee” uttered by commissioner Roger Gooddell — at the NFL Draft next week in Pittsburgh.
“I learned a lot from him,” McCoy said of Hood while speaking at the NFL Combine earlier this offseason. “I feel like we both learned a lot from each other. We both had good seasons, so it’s just (an opportunity) for us to feed off of each other and get better off of (each other).”
If the informed mock drafts and analysts are to be believed, McCoy is the odds-on favorite to be not only the first Tennessee defensive back taken in the draft but in the running along with LSU’s Mansoor Delane to be the first cornerback taken overall.
McCoy is projected to be selected in the 10-20 range of picks, and Hood more likely will be chosen with a pick in the 20s.
Not that McCoy and Hood — who have developed a friendship — have placed any sort of friendly wager on it.
“No,” McCoy said, “we ain’t had that conversation.”
Separately, however, each of these Tennessee corners expresses a confidence in his own abilities.
“You know, I mean, I think I’m the best corner in this class, honestly,” Hood said at the Combine. “And there’s a lot of great players: Jermod, my teammate; Mansoor, all the guys, they’re great players. But I honestly think I’m the best corner in the draft, and I haven’t even played my best football yet.”
Hood did not become a starter until his third year of college this past fall for Tennessee. He appeared in four games for Auburn while redshirting in 2023 and then played in all 13 games for Colorado the following season.
Hood entered the transfer portal at about this time last year and, a week later, committed to Tennessee. Explicitly or by coincidence, he was a replacement for McCoy. McCoy was a second-team AP All American for the Vols in 2024 after he had spent his freshman season at Oregon State, but McCoy suffered a torn ACL during the spring of 2025 and did not play that fall.
“It was tough,” McCoy said, “but I had a big leadership role. So I couldn’t like step away and kind of be distant. I had to make sure I was pouring into guys in the room. We had young guys that had to step up. I had to make sure that they understood the standard in the room.”
Hood (6-foot-1, 188) seemingly met the standard McCoy set. He had a pick-six, a forced fumble, eight pass breakups and 50 tackles while earning third-team all-SEC recognition in 2025.
In 2024, the 6-1, 188-pound McCoy had four interceptions and nine pass breakups while getting named second-team all-SEC.
The Steelers met with both Tennessee cornerbacks at the Combine. Though the Steelers signed veteran Jamel Dean to a three-year, $36.75 million contract in free agency and are expected to lavish their other starting cornerback — Joey Porter Jr. — with even more money in an extension this summer, they are believed to be considering taking a cornerback with one of their early draft picks.
Each of these Tennessee corners plays a style the Steelers covet: physical, press-oriented, not afraid to tackle or help out in the running game.
Regardless of where McCoy and Hood end up, that each is anticipated to go in the first round is special even if they never actually shared the field during a game.
“We were in the room together going through all the meetings together, just us talking to each other about things that we see on the field and off the field,” McCoy said. “We’ve just been trying to make each other better.”
Top 5 cornerbacks
1. Mansoor Delane, LSU
Senior, 6-0, 187
Became an All-American playing in the SEC as a senior after three seasons at Virginia Tech
2. Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
Junior, 6-1, 188
Played in only 25 college games and did not play last season after a torn ACL in the spring
3. Colton Hood, Tennessee
Redshirt sophomore, 6-0, 193
Physical corner who attended three schools in three college seasons (also Auburn, Colorado)
4. Chris Johnson, San Diego State
Senior, 6-0, 193
Second-team All-American was the Mountain West co-Defensive Player of the Year
5. Avieon Terrell, Clemson
Junior, 5-11, 186
Brother, A.J., was a first-round pick in 2020 entering his seventh season as a starter for Falcons