With the college football world slowed down during the offseason, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg created some good conversation with his list of the top 25 non-quarterback players entering the 2025 college football season.
Adding in the quarterbacks would flood the list, so Rittenberg is specifically taking a look at every other position to get a sense of who has the most momentum heading into the season.
Rittenberg picked out 25 impressive players, such as Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith, Alabama WR Ryan Williams, and Florida RB Jaden Baugh.
One name missing from the list who could have had a spot on it is Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy.
While the rising junior is battling his way back from a torn ACL that was suffered in January, McCoy still projects to be one of the top players at his position this season.
As a sophomore with the Tennessee program in 2024, McCoy immediately made a massive impact on the Vols’ defense. The six-foot cornerback racked up 44 tackles, 26 solo tackles, four interceptions, and seven passes defended. McCoy’s four interceptions were tied for the fifth-most in the SEC behind only Texas safety Jahdae Barron (5), Mizzou safety Jalen Catalon (5), LSU safety AJ Haulcy (5), and South Carolina’s Jalon Kilgore (5).
While playing the most defensive snaps for Tennessee last season, McCoy earned the third-highest grade on the Vols’ defense and the highest grade in the secondary at 87.0, according to Pro Football Focus. McCoy was a shutdown cornerback who made opposing quarterbacks think twice about throwing the ball his way, like when he picked off Alabama’s Jalen Milroe or Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia – both in the endzone to prevent a score. His other two interceptions came off of Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold and UTEP QB Skyler Locklear.
Rittenberg only has one cornerback listed in his Top 25 players, Duke’s Chandler Rivers. The then-junior cornerback earned a spot on the AP All-America third team last season, but McCoy did one step better with a spot on the AP All-America second team. Perhaps McCoy’s injury and the uncertainty around the ACL propped Rivers above, but it may not stay that way by the end of the season.
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In late April, Pro Football Focus analyst Dalton Wasserman put together a way-too-early look at the 2026 NFL Draft. McCoy, one of the top cornerback prospects in college football last year, was projected at No. 15 to the Miami Dolphins in Wasserman’s early look. Wasserman also had McCoy as the second-highest cornerback in the draft behind only Clemson’s Avieon Terrell at No. 13 to the Rams.
The hype for McCoy’s 2025 season doesn’t stop there, though. While it may have been an off comment in passing, ESPN’s David Hale tagged McCoy as a dark horse candidate for the Heisman Trophy in December.
“But when the award is announced, it’ll actually be a surprise winner instead,” Hale wrote, picking a Heisman candidate other than Texas’s Arch Manning. “Who wins it? How about Oklahoma’s John Mateer? Or maybe Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith? Or perhaps Tennessee gets a little revenge and sends its own athletic defensive star to the podium, with Jermod McCoy winning the hardware.”
Hype can come from all angles, but the only thing that matters is what you put on the field. McCoy appears to be diligently working his way back this offseason as he recovers from ACL surgery in January.
“We know that Jermod’s going to be back,” Tennessee secondary coach Willie Martinez said during spring camp. “We know he’s a great player. We know he’s a great leader. He’s doing an unbelievable job – just the same thing I just said about Rickey is times two with him. He’s engaged. He’s actually growing as a player, even though he’s not physically going through it. He’s setting the example. He’s leading it.”
Check out Adam Rittenberg’s full Top 25 non-quarterbacks list heading into the 2025 season here.
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