Tennessee football: Vols top 30 players since 1998 national championship

The face of the Tennessee football defense for four years, Rico McCoy was a staple of the Vols during their rough transition period to close out the first decade of this century. A four-star linebacker out of Washington, D.C., he arrived with great expectations but had to redshirt his first year.

But the next year, he immediately became a regular contributor. McCoy appeared in all 13 games for the Vols in 2006 and started two of them. He wasn’t going to break in front of a group of linebackers that had Marvin Mitchell, Jerod Mayo and Ryan Karl. Still, he managed to make Freshman All-American that year with his play due to three tackles for a loss and two forced fumbles.

In 2007, when Mitchell left and Mayo moved to inside linebacker, McCoy’s time to shine arrived. Over the next three years, he would not relinquish his starting spot. McCoy was key to the Vols winning the SEC East his first year as a starter, coming in second on the team with 106 tackles, along with four and a half tackles for a loss, a sack and an interception.

He followed that up with a more difficult 2008 season. This wasn’t just due to all the turmoil, but also having to deal with more expectations and the loss of Mayo, meaning the inability to benefit from as little attention. But he still managed three and a half tackles for a loss, a sack and three pass deflections and made All-SEC for a second-straight year.

Finally, though, in 2009, he thrived under Lane Kiffin. In Monte Kiffin’s new Cover-2 defense, McCoy registered 119 tackles. He only had three tackles for a loss and half a sack. But in a scheme that never blitzes, that made sense. What stood out, though, was five pass breakups and five forced fumbles, enough to make All-SEC again.

A four-year player and three-year starter, who made All-SEC all three years he started and Freshman All-American the one year he didn’t start, shows a true level of elite production. It’s enough for us to put McCoy on this list. Nobody should be shocked by this one.