Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel on Jermod McCoy’s cool moment

Tennessee all-SEC defensive back Jermod McCoy tore his ACL back in January while training at home in Texas. On Friday, McCoy took a step to returning as he went through individual drills with is teammates for the first time. 

It was a hurdle crossed for McCoy and head coach Josh Heupel said it was a great moment for McCoy and the Vols. 

“Yeah, cool moment for Jermod,” Heupel said following the scrimmage. “Big moment getting back on the field, doing some of the individual work. It was cool to see the way his brothers were excited for him in that moment and how big that was, too. He broke us down before practice. And he’s done an elite job throughout his rehab, and there’s still more that he’s got to continue to do, but excited to get him back out with us.”

Heupel has continued to stress how pleased he has been with the way the Oregon State transfer, who burst on the scene for Tennessee last fall, has dealt with everything and indicated the step taken this week was expected.

“He’s handled it really well from the very beginning,” Heupel said. “Just his mindset and how he’s approached every single day. He’s done a really good job throughout the course of the summer. Periodically you see his drills, movement, explosive-type drills that he’s doing, change based on his rehab protocol.

“As we go through training camp, there’ll be a progression. How his body responds to some of those things will kind of dictate the time period of when he’s available for us.” 

In his first season in the SEC, the former receiver signee, recorded 44 tackles, a team high 9 PBU’s and a team high 4 interceptions including a key interception in the end zone in Tennessee’s win over Alabama.

As McCoy continues to recover, Heupel and the Vols continue through fall camp. Saturday, Tennessee held their first major scrimmage of the pre-season three weeks ahead of their opener against Syracuse in Atlanta.