Jermod McCoy was scheduled to play defense for just a few games at Whitehouse High School in Texas.
Primarily a wide receiver, McCoy simply filled a need for the team during his senior year. He made 28 tackles and intercepted two passes in his final high school season.
McCoy was originally recruited by Oregon State to play offense. When the opportunity came to change sides of the ball, he took advantage of it.
“I chose to play DB because my family and everyone just told me this was my ticket to where I wanted to go,” McCoy said. “Playing DB was probably the best choice for me, so I ended up flipping to Oregon State.”
McCoy played in all 12 regular season games for Oregon State as a true freshman in 2023, starting five. He broke up seven passes, had two interceptions, and also had 31 tackles.
Still, McCoy felt he deserved to move up, especially as Oregon State faced an uncertain future regarding its conference affiliation. Now that he's in the SEC, he feels like he should have been here all along.
“I ended up going to Oregon State because it was the biggest school I had at the time,” McCoy said. “But I definitely felt like I should have been in the SEC.”
Despite having a full season under his belt, McCoy is still new to the position. Although he has a lot of experience playing against defensive backs, he is still relatively new to playing defense himself.
Most of McCoy's skills were learned from his offensive background, and he will help bring a new skill set to Tennessee's defensive backs, even if he is not fully developed.
“He's learning the game from a defensive standpoint, but he's confident,” secondary coach Willie Martinez said. “He's got ball skills. He's got all kinds of athleticism. He understands leverage.”
Jalen McMurray brings experience from Temple
From Jalen McMurray's perspective, not much will change at Tennessee from the competition they played at Temple.
“The speed is very similar at every school from the last school I was at to now,” McMurray said. “Obviously up front, we’re putting bigger guys up front and everything else.”
As a defensive back, McMurray doesn't have to deal with as much size as he does at powerhouse schools. He has to deal with the explosiveness of receivers that exists at every level of FBS football.
McMurray played in 27 games for the Owls and had 12 pass breakups and forced two fumbles in his career. He started 11 games last season and recorded 39 tackles.
Although McMurray is new to Tennessee, he joins the defensive back unit as one of the most experienced players. He will be in a position unit with a few freshmen looking for leadership, and many may turn to him as a junior.
McMurray will be learning Tennessee's defense alongside new players experiencing college football for the first time.
“This is the first time I’ve been one of the oldest people in the room,” McMurray said. “It’s different, but at the same time, we have some very talented players in our room, so we all push each other up and it’s healthy competition.”
