Josh Heupel doesn't give Tennessee fans much hope Jermod McCoy will return soon

When will he get back on the field? That's what plenty of Tennessee football fans are wondering when it comes to All-American cornerback Jermod McCoy. The standout defensive back is still working his way back from a torn ACL, but no one knows when he'll get cleared.

McCoy suffered the injury in January while back home in Texas. Multiple times this spring and summer, head man Josh Heupel has said that there's no exact timeline for when McCoy will be back in action. He doubled down on that stance earlier this week. This sure doesn't give people much hope that McCoy will be ready to rock for the start of the season:

Jermod McCoy's return to the field for Tennessee remains totally up in the air

This is pretty much coach speak from Heupel, which shouldn't be a surprise. He's not going to put a timeframe on his playmaker and put extra pressure on him to be set by that date. At the same time, Tennessee is officially playing in a game later this month.

It's looking unlikely that McCoy will be good to go to take on Syracuse. What about Week 2? Obviously, people want him in action for the monster Week 3 showdown at Neyland Stadium against Georgia and Gunner Stockton.

With that said, there's no chance Heupel is going to rush him back, as he has stated clearly that the Vols are keeping his short-term and long-term health in mind. With McCoy sidelined, even more eyes are going to be on Colorado transfer Colton Hood to step up and be a leader for the secondary.

Hood was a huge addition for the Tennessee defense this offseason and you better believe that defensive coordinator Tim Banks is happy to have him on campus and practicing. Hood will deliver for this team before McCoy gets back and he'll be a stud even when McCoy returns. Soon enough, we'll find out just how long McCoy will be out, but we may need to prepare for the standout to potentially be out of the lineup until October.