Josh Heupel shares what he sees in secondary transfer players

Due to the typical roster shakeup that now occurs every December, Tennessee was left in need of some more defensive backs and Josh Heupel made sure to grab a couple of versatile athletes out of the portal to provide extra depth in the secondary.

As of national signing day earlier in the week, he feels great about where the DBs room is after a few additions.

“Yeah, I like the physical traits of the guys that are in the building right now. We have some young guys that gotta grow and mature as football players, but I love the athletic traits,” said the Volunteer coach at the signing day press conference. For his program, athleticism in the secondary is always vital.

“That’s true of the young guys that were with us this past season. True of the signees that are coming in. We felt like we wanted to add some experience in those positions. We’ve attacked that through the portal with a couple guys as well.”

Josh Heupel also spoke on some of the new guys, Jakobe Thomas and Jermod McCoy, individually.

“The secondary guys, they’re athletic. They got great short-area quickness. They’re willing to be physical, stick their face on people,” reviewed Heupel, also liking their potential. “They have multiple years left, can grow out of what we’re doing. I feel like both of them can make an immediate impact, obviously, as well.”

Matt Ray of Volquest was able to back that up that breakdown in his review of what limited tape was available to watch specifically on Thomas. He noted the Middle Tennessee State safety’s versatility and nose for the ball. Plus, Thomas finished No. 2 on the Raider defense in tackles this season with 71 of them.

Jermod McCoy is another youngster and was a massive freshman contributor on a rock solid Oregon State defense. He totaled 31 tackles, defensed seven passes and even picked off two of them. That is some elite production for a rookie on an 8-4 power conference team. So, while on the younger side, these two additions could be key cogs in the Tennessee secondary for years to come.